When I came to the United States to continue my studies, I was 12 years old and while I was growing up, I learned and adapted to the culture. However, a thing that I can’t seem to understand is the voting system in the United States.
I’m from Mexico, and I was able to vote this past election to decide who was going to be the next president. Unfortunately, my preferred candidate did not win, but that’s where my confusion begins.
Mexico is a democratic country, although it doesn’t feel like it, but that’s another story. The people vote for whomever they want to be president.
In the U.S., it’s a whole different system. I learned that there’s the Electoral College, and apparently, they are the ones who decide who is president.
For an outsider like me, this system seems complicated.
To summarize it, people vote for electors, and these electors are the ones who represent the state and get to choose the president.
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but Donald Trump was elected. How did this happen if the electors are supposed to represent their people, and the people chose Clinton?
After doing some research, I concluded that what really matters are the states.
For example, California has the most electoral votes with 55, while states like Wyoming and North Dakota have three electoral votes each. This makes a huge impact on how the president is elected, because the candidate who wins the biggest states is usually the victor of the presidential election.
Trump clearly won the major states, and that’s why he won.
Mexico and the United States, so close, yet so far. I’m sure that as long as I live in the U.S., I’m going to learn more about the culture, especially politics.
One thing these two wonderful countries have in common is that they’re democratic and it’s the people who get to decide who the president is.
It’s really important for our voice to be heard. The change starts with us, so remember to vote!
