In the 2016 US election, Donald Trump got three million less votes than Hillary Clinton, yet won the presidency, by 80,000 votes, thanks to the Electoral College. Holy cow, how does that work?
In this course, we’ll find out!
I started looking into this to find out how the rules and the math behind this crazy-sounding outcome, but it quickly became apparent that—surprise!—understanding the basics about the Electoral College gives a ton of insight into America and being American, and in the bigger picture, how political systems and the ways we govern ourselves emerge from practical realities. So, check it out!