How are states awarded during the general election?

I was looking at CNN's tally of votes/state and I noticed that Obama has more votes than John McCain in just about every election, whether he wins or loses to Clinton. Does the majority rule still apply during the general election? In other words, if more democrats vote for Obama in Texas than Republicans voting for McCain, does that mean Texas would then become a BLUE state? Or is there some type of formula that determines the winner?

Public Comments

1. popular vote of each state. Party affiliation doesn't matter in the general.
2. but don't forget those are only primary votes , he won the democratic primary in those states but has to run again in the fall during the actual election. in order to turn texas blue he would need to find milions of new democratic votes there , not just the ones he got during the primary . but reality is election will be focused on the historical swing states not each other strongholds .
3. Each state has electors...one for each Senator and US Representative. The winner of the popular vote in each state takes all electors from that state. Whichever candidate has the most electors wins.
4. Candidate needs 270 electoral votes .... awarded by state .... in this count... Obama is third .. Clinton on top, McCain second then Obama. If we were using that system in the Primary... Clinton would be ahead of Obama. If we used the Republican formula for picking a candidate Clinton would be ahead. If the states in the primary voted in a different order, Clinton would be ahead. If MI and Fl were to count... Clinton would be ahead in Popular vote right now.
5. The Constitution requires that a process known as the Electoral College ultimately decides who will win the general election. The Electoral College is a method of indirect popular election of the President of the United States. The authors of the Constitution put this system in place so that careful and calm deliberation would lead to the selection of the best-qualified candidate. Voters in each state actually cast a vote for a block of electors who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate. These electors, in turn, vote for the presidential candidate. Each state is apportioned a number of electors equal to the total number of their Congressional delegation. After Election Day, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, these electors assemble in their state capitals, cast their ballots, and officially select the next President of the United States. Legally, the electors may vote for someone other than the candidate for whom they were pledged to vote. This phenomenon is known as the "unfaithful" or "faithless" elector. Generally, this does not happen. Therefore, the candidate who receives the most votes in a state at the general election will be the candidate for whom the electors later cast their votes. Two votes are taken, one for President and one for Vice President. Electors are restricted from voting for two candidates from their state. The candidate who wins in a state is awarded all of that state’s Electoral College votes, except in Maine and Nebraska where the electoral may be split. The votes of the electors are then sent to Congress where the President of the Senate opens the certificates, and counts the votes. This takes place on January 6, unless that date falls on a Sunday. In that case, the votes are counted on the next day. An absolute majority is necessary to prevail in the presidential and the vice presidential elections, that is, half the total plus one electoral votes are required. With 538 Electors, a candidate must receive at least 270 votes to be elected to the office of President or Vice President. lots more about Presidential election process at the web page
6. Right now, the votes don't count. We're doing primary elections which are elections to determine who will be the Republican and Democratic candidates. In November, we'll have the general election where the candidates try to win the popular votes in each state. The winner of the popular vote in each state unofficially wins all of that state's electors in the Electoral College. The Electors then cast the official vote for the winning candidate. With regards to red and blue states, as the unofficial election results come in and the winning party (simple majority) can be projected, the news networks then assign the color.