Explainer | The 7 states that will decide the US presidency
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in key swing states, with each presenting unique challenges and opportunities for both
And in the handful of critical states framing the 2024 race, there is little daylight between the rivals with barely a week before Election Day.
Under the complex Electoral College system, each state has a certain number of “electors”, based on population. Most states have a winner-take-all system that awards all electors to whoever wins the popular vote.
With candidates needing 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win, elections tend to be decided in the hotly contested “swing states” with a history of alternating between Republican and Democratic candidates.
This year, there are seven such battlegrounds, and every one is a toss-up within the margin of error.