The United States employs a distinctive electoral system for selecting its president, known as the Electoral College. This mechanism has resulted in significant voting power being concentrated in a few politically balanced states, compelling campaigns to focus their resources primarily on these battleground states. This election year, the seven key battleground states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
As a consequence, many voters nationwide feel marginalized, believing their voices and the issues they prioritize are neglected during the presidential race. American citizens do not directly elect their president through a popular vote; instead, when they cast their ballots, they are technically voting for electors who will ultimately choose the president and vice president on a designated day in December.
While nearly all states mandate that electors vote in accordance with their state’s popular vote, this does not ensure that the candidate receiving the highest Electoral College votes is the one preferred by the majority. In fact, in two of the last six presidential elections, candidates have ascended to the presidency after losing the overall popular vote. Notably, former President Donald Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 by nearly 2.9 million votes yet secured enough Electoral College support to win the presidency.
This system is frequently seen as perplexing, particularly by citizens in democracies globally, as the U.S. remains the only nation where voters select a body of electors specifically to determine the president. In contrast, most other democratic countries directly elect their presidents via popular vote.
Each state’s number of electors corresponds to its representatives in the U.S. House and Senate, benefiting smaller states and shifting the focal point of presidential elections to a small number of swing states. A presidential candidate requires a majority of the 538 total electoral votes to claim victory, with the District of Columbia contributing three votes. The majority of states operate on a winner-takes-all basis, granting all electors to the candidate who wins the state’s popular vote, although Maine and Nebraska distribute theirs proportionally.
This year’s battleground states represent 18% of the nation’s population but have garnered disproportionate attention from both Democratic and Republican candidates, as well as their running mates. Up to this point in the campaign, candidates have conducted over 200 total campaign stops, with approximately three-quarters occurring in the seven battleground states. Pennsylvania has seen 41 visits, making it the most frequented, followed by Michigan with 31 and Wisconsin with 27.
The emphasis on these states is not just about visits; campaigns are increasingly targeting specific counties believed to be critical for electoral success. Events in these seven battleground states are concentrated in areas with 22.7 million registered voters, representing just 10% of registered voters nationwide for the upcoming election.
This lack of focus extends to cities like Waukegan, Illinois, a working-class city with a majority Latino population that has faced economic challenges. Waukegan has largely been overlooked by presidential candidates, as it typically votes Democratic. Conversely, nearby Wisconsin often sees candidates making stops.
The last presidential candidate to visit Waukegan was Donald Trump in 2020, who briefly disembarked from Air Force One before heading to Wisconsin. In contrast, Racine, a comparable city in Wisconsin, has hosted significant campaign events where candidates emphasize the importance of local voters.
Residents in Waukegan express a sense of neglect in the national political dialogue and a desire for greater recognition from candidates. Local leaders criticize the Electoral College for disproportionately valuing votes from certain regions over urban and diverse populations.
