How the Electoral College could still work in Hillary Clinton’s favor

By Nastassja Chan 11/12/16

At approximately 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Donald Trump made his first speech as the president-elect. Although, Hillary Clinton is expected to receive more popular votes than Trump. Many question whether Trump’s effective power as president will be constrained, with both State and Congress controlled by the GOP.

However, electors of the Electoral College will cast votes in their represented states for president and vice president. Congress counts these votes in January before determining if a candidate has achieved at least 270 votes.

The Electoral College allows a number of appointed electors in each state to pledge their vote to a certain candidate. Though Trump leads the Electoral College vote by 290-228, Clinton leads the popular vote, 47.7 percent – 47.5 percent.

According to CNN’s tally, Clinton had 59,755,284 votes, with 92 percent of the expected vote counted. While Trump had 59,535,522. With the small difference of 219,762 votes between the two, Clinton may be the first presidential candidate since 2000 to lose the election, but win the popular vote. The totals are subject to change as more absentee votes come in.

On Tuesday, most polls showed Clinton in the lead, with the Electoral College considered favorable to Clinton as well, before the election. Trump won over historically liberal states Michigan and Wisconsin, surprising many.

Protests have surfaced nationwide against Trump’s election. A petition on change.org, which calls on the Electors to ignore their states’ votes and cast their ballots for Secretary Clinton. As of Thursday night, it has 1,334,133 signatures.