The Electoral College System Favors Small States, Putting Big Ones at a Disadvantage in Elections

In recent years, the United States has seen a shift in the way presidential elections are won. The Electoral College system, which favors small states over big ones, has created a structural challenge for larger states that are increasingly being left behind.

This problem would not exist if the presidency were decided by popular vote. However, as the demographics of the country continue to change, Democrats have become more concentrated geographically, making it difficult for them to win elections without dominating specific regions.

In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden won the presidency with a record-breaking number of votes, but he also secured the fewest counties since Barack Obama's 2012 victory. According to reports, Trump won over 2,400 counties, while Biden won just 477.

The pattern of geographic voting remained largely unchanged from the previous election, with Biden winning most of the country's population centers and Trump performing well in rural areas. The significant difference was seen in voter turnout, which increased by 11% compared to the 2016 election.

While Trump performed better than he did four years ago, winning 11 million more votes than in 2016, Biden still secured a significant victory. As of December 2nd, Biden had received 15 million more votes than Hillary Clinton's total in 2016 and 18 million more than Trump's vote count that year.

The map below shows the county-level results of the 2020 election, with darker shades indicating counties that voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Despite the similar-looking maps between elections, the results are vastly different due to changes in voter turnout and geographic concentration.

This article is available online at 'nytimes county election map'.

Nytimes county election map