Georgia’s status as a swing state attracted Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to the state. frequently to attract voters. It is essential that candidates win swing states if they want to win the election.

That’s because the Electoral College determines who wins the presidency. This is a process that balances the influence of states on the outcome of elections.

According to the Cook’s Political Reportthere are almost equal numbers of voters in Republican and Democratic states. This is why swing states like Georgia have the power to determine who wins the presidency.

How does the Electoral College work?

The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors nationwide, and a presidential candidate must receive 270 votes to win an election.

In most states, the number of electors is determined by the sum of seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state has two U.S. senators, and the number of representatives in the House of Representatives is determined by population size.

For example, Georgia has two U.S. senators and 14 representatives in the House of Representatives; it therefore has 16 voters.

In all 50 states, each political party has its own slate of electors before the election. Regardless of which candidate wins the popular vote in a state, that party’s slate participates in the electoral college.

For example, Biden won the popular vote in Georgia in 2020. As a result, a slate of 16 Democratic electors voted in the electoral college. (The separate slate of 16 Republicans was unable to vote.)

The winner of an election can be announced on election night, even if the electoral process has not been completed. This year, electoral vote will take place on December 17, and The counting of these votes by Congress will take place on January 6.

Before an election, voters agree to vote for their party’s candidate, according to the Library of Congress. This unanimous vote is called a “winner takes all” system. It is extremely rare for voters to vote for another party’s candidate, known as a “faithless vote.”

Why the Electoral College?

The Electoral College creates a more level playing field for states with dramatically different populations. In a popular vote system, states with small populations would have little influence compared to states with massive populations.

It was originally created to strengthen the political power of the Southern slave states and protect the institution of slaveryreports PBS.

About 63% of Americans would prefer the popular vote to decide elections rather than the Electoral College, according to the Pew Research Center. The survey finds that more Democrats than Republicans oppose the Electoral College, but Republican support is declining.

There was five instances in U.S. history, where the Electoral College has produced a different result than the popular vote, according to the National Archives. The two recent cases date back to 2000 and 2016, when Al Gore and then Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in those respective years.

Georgia Electoral College

Each state’s party leadership decides its slate of electors before the election. For example, the Georgia Republican Party has a list of 16 people who would automatically become voters if Trump wins Georgia.

The path Georgia.gov The said: “When you vote for a presidential candidate, you are not actually voting for the president; you vote for a group of people called “electors.”

Voters are usually state legislators or other notable members of the state party. The only condition is that the individual cannot hold federal office.

Notable names among 2020 Democratic voters included Stacey Abrams, who unsuccessfully ran for governor of Georgia in 2022, Senator Nikema Williams (now a representative in the United States House of Representatives), and longtime legislators Gloria Butler and Calvin Smyre.

Fake voters in the 2020 election

In the 2020 election, Biden received 302 electoral votes, surpassing the 270 needed to win.

In the aftermath of the election, some states, including Georgia, attempted to certify alternative slates of electors in order to overturn the results in favor of Trump.

It was a coordinated plan that required seven swing states — all states Biden won — to appoint Republican electors to falsely declare Trump the winner in those states.

This plan would have fraudulently given Trump the electoral votes he needed to win the election.

In Georgia, 16 fake voters signed a document falsely stating that Trump won Georgia.

The plan failed and the 16 individuals were among 19 people charged with racketeering in The Georgia Election Interference Case.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Nikema Williams was a former state House representative. This story has been updated to reflect that Williams is a former state senator.