Hillary Clinton won popular votes by about four hundred thousand
votes (1). We should take into account that more than 43% of eligible voters
did not vote (2). Out of 325 million
Americans (3), about 231.5
million were eligible to vote (4). 209 million American
are 18 years old and over (5). This means that
over 20 million Americans are over 18, but could not vote. The large number of
this population consists of those who have been sentenced to prison as felons,
majority of which are non-white and belong to the lowest economical class.
There are 538 Electoral College and a winner of the race needs to
get more than 50% of this number, or 270 votes. But why the person who gets
less popular vote wins? The answer to this question goes back to the reason
that votes of delegates (instead of one man one vote) was created, which seemed
to be a way to prevent racism. As racism has changed form and shape
(considering the 20 million who cannot vote, ID requirement, gerrymandering, and
tools in prohibiting certain racial groups to vote) the question becomes,
whether continuing with this system in the 21st century is
necessary.
