30 Election Day fun facts

Amna Nawaz:

Well, it's been a long road to this Election Day, and our incredible digital team has been covering all aspects of it, including a countdown of facts over the last 30 days from Lisa Desjardins and Deema Zein.

Take a look.

Lisa Desjardins:

All right, the number 30. Let's talk about the key swing state of Georgia, very key this year.

Four years ago, Joe Biden won, but Donald Trump won every single county, except for 30, but those 30 counties that Joe Biden won, they had more people in them, and that's why he won the state of Georgia.

Deema Zein:

Republicans have control of both chambers in 29 state legislatures.

Lisa Desjardins:

Let's talk about money. Elections are not free to run, but in 28 states, outside groups, nonprofits, charities, they're banned from donating any money to help run the election.

Deema Zein:

The youngest member of Congress, Representative Max Frost of Florida, is 27 years old.

Lisa Desjardins:

New York has 26 congressional districts. Why does that matter? Because Democrats hope to flip at least four of them and use that to take over the House of Representatives.

Deema Zein:

Just 25 counties in the country voted for the winner in the last three presidential elections.

Lisa Desjardins:

OK, this one's a little nerdy; 24 states share voter information with each other in a system called ERIC. The idea is to block illegal voters, people who try and vote twice, but that is fewer states than used to be on that system because a bunch of red states dropped out.

Deema Zein:

Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats, and that's not an easy task.

Lisa Desjardins:

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution sets out some key rules for electing presidents. It says no one can be elected president more than twice.

Twenty-one million more people voted in 2020 than in 2016. In 20 states, you can register to vote and vote immediately on Election Day. The state of Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes. Why is that important? That's the most of any swing state.

Deema Zein:

The age to vote in America is 18.

Lisa Desjardins:

Seventeen. December 17 is when the Electoral College meets to certify the winner of this election.

Deema Zein:

Sixteen is the number of Republicans in the House of Representatives who sit in districts won by Joe Biden. Only 15 people have become president after being vice president.

Lisa Desjardins:

Last year, 14 states changed their election laws that changed access to voting.

Deema Zein:

Joe Biden ran for office 13 times. He won 10, lost three, all in presidential primaries.

Lisa Desjardins:

The 12th Amendment to the Constitution changed how the president and vice president were elected. It used to be the runner-up to president became vice president, but that didn't work well. Now they run as a ticket.

Deema Zein:

Republicans have 11 Senate seats to defend this year, and Democrats have more than double. Ten states have ballot measures on abortion this year.

Lisa Desjardins:

Let's talk about a number ending in nine, 269. That is the tie point in the Electoral College. And this election, there are multiple ways that there could be a tie, where Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both get 269 electoral votes.

Deema Zein:

Eight presidents have had last names with five letters in them.

Lisa Desjardins:

Does that sound random? Well, think about our most three recent,Obama, Trump, Biden, Harris, six letters. So what's it going to be, America, five or six letters?

Deema Zein:

There are seven swing key states in the presidential election, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, and Georgia.

Lisa Desjardins:

Six, that is the number of votes by which Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her election in 2020, the closest congressional election this century.

In 2020, five swing states flipped from Trump to Biden. That's how Biden — Deema.

Deema Zein:

Democrats need to flip four seats in order to take over the House — back to you, Lisa.

Lisa Desjardins:

It took three-and-a-half days to count and call the 2020 election — Deema, back to you.

Deema Zein:

If Republicans have a net gain of two Senate seats, they win the Senate regardless of who wins the presidency.

And back to the studio for the final fact.

Lisa Desjardins:

Thank you, Deema.

So far, only one person has ever been president, lost the job, and then won the job back.

Deema Zein:

We're looking at you, Grover Cleveland.

Tune back in. We're here for the 2024 presidential election. See you then.

Geoff Bennett:

Brilliant work by our Deema Zein and Lisa Desjardins.