Electoral College System
The Electoral College is a system where U.S. presidential elections are decided not by national popular vote, but by votes cast by 538 “electors” who represent each state. To win the presidency, a candidate must win 270 electoral votes (a majority of 538)
Each state receives electoral votes equal to its total representation in Congress.
Electoral votes= Number of House representatives+ Number of Senate representative
House seats are based on population (roughly), larger states get more House seats. Every state gets exactly 2 Senate seats regardless of population.
Agricultural states gain political influence when they’re swing states, swing states can be demographically and economically mixed not because they’re agricultural. A state can be heavily agricultural and politically non-competitive. A state can be a major swing state with declining agriculture. (like Arizona)
Meandering leads to perfection 