The United States electoral process can be a challenge to understand for those outside the country, but those growing up in the US also have plenty of questions to be answered, many of which arise every two or four years.

As we enter the final hours before the 2024 Presidential election, some perceived peculiarities include the fact that not all states carry the same weight in the results, the “first-past-the-post” system, and the role of the Electoral College.

Adding to this, of the 50, most states consistently vote for the same party in every election. This means that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump entered the race with a percentage of votes already anticipated to be secure, as many states are steadfast in their support for either the Republican or Democratic parties.

For historical ideological reasons, both candidates generally have a set number of guaranteed votes, and it will be the states that do not consistently vote for the same party that will determine who becomes the next president of the United States.

States that generally vote Republican

To win the White House, a candidate must receive at least 270 electoral votes out of the 538 members of the Electoral College. In this race, Trump enters with approximately 188 votes virtually secured.

States that generally vote Democrat

Similarly, Harris has the fairly secure backing of 225 electoral votes based on state choices in recent elections.

Swing states where the decision is unsure

Although in many regions of the US the vote is decided, there are others where the competition is intense, and it remains uncertain until the last moment which party will be supported. Commonly called the ‘swing states’, but also known as battleground or pivotal states, the outcome is less predictable and could reasonably be won by either candidate. Unlike solidly red (Republican-leaning) or blue (Democratic-leaning) states, swing states do not have a consistent voting pattern and can shift from one party to another in different elections.

In the 2024 election, the swing states number seven: Pennsylvania (19 votes), Georgia (16), North Carolina (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10), and Nevada (6), collectively holding a crucial 93 electoral votes.

In the past, Florida and Ohio were also on this list of swing states, but this is no longer the case for 2024. Since 2016, Ohio has been expected to vote Republican (although some recent info has raised eyebrows), while Florida has become significantly more Republican in recent years.