Electoral college map: how many electors are there per county in Florida?
Florida is always must-stop every four years for the presidential campaigns trying to win the 29 electoral votes that can carry them to the White House.
As Joe Biden and Donald Trump wrap up their campaigns Florida will be watched closely to see which way the state votes this year. The two candidates have spent considerable time in the state trying their hardest to swing the vote their way so they can win the electoral college.ç
USA Elections 2020 results in Florida: who has won the popular and college vote?
In the United States we like to pride ourselves on the idea of “one person, one vote” but when it comes to electing the President it isn’t exactly that way. Instead, an electoral college is created every four years to elect the President based on how each state votes. The US electoral college was handed down to us by our founding fathers as a way to balance out the populous northern vote against the less populous southern vote.
Florida now is one of the powerhouses with 29 electoral votes, tied with New York. Only California with 55 and Texas with 38 have more. Because the Sunshine State swings Democrat one year and then Republican the next the state gets a lot of attention from both parties. Especially Republican candidates since no Republican has made it to the White House without Florida in their basket.
Currently the winning candidate must get at least 270 electors in order to win the presidential race.
Check the results in the popular vote and the electoral college in Florida
How are the electors chosen?
Every state gets to choose how it selects their electors. In Florida the executive committee of each party draws up a list of eligible electors, the electors can’t hold any federal office. The lists must then be turned in to the governor before 1 September of the election year to be certified. Then whichever presidential candidate receives the most votes in the state takes the whole kit and caboodle.
The 29 electors chosen by the winning party will go to Washington D.C. to cast their vote for the presidential candidate they have taken an oath to vote for. If something should happen to an elector before they can attend the electoral college convention then the governor can name a replacement that fits the qualities necessary to carry out the duty.
Can Electors break their oath?
In Florida there is no penalty for a faithless elector, in other words an elector who casts a ballot for a candidate other than the one who had the majority of the vote. This varies from state to state with some states penalizing electors or just changing their vote if they go rogue.
Why does Florida have 29 electors?
In the US constitution Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 stipulates that every state will appoint a body of electors equal to the congressional delegation they send to Washington D.C. Every state has 2 Senators but in addition to that are the Representatives for the lower chamber. In the case of Florida there are 27 Representatives in the House for a total of 29 electors.
The electors have nothing to do with a particular county nor are they dependent on a specific congressional district. But if you want to do the math Florida has 67 counties, so that is one elector per 2.3 counties. Population-wise Florida has a population of approximately 21.5 million so that means roughly 1 elector per 862,000 residents.
For reference, Wyoming has a population of less than 600,000 and 3 electors. So that is 1 elector per 200,000 residents.