Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

We live in a federated system made up of 50 separate states. Our national election is not determined by the majority vote but by an electoral college made up of the 50 states and additional territories. The winner is determined by the majority vote of the electoral college. Each state is allocated votes based on its population. In the 2004 election Al Gore received a majority of the votes cast, but lost the election when the United States Supreme court determined that it would not require a tally of all votes cast in the State of Florida, but that George Bush had the lead in Florida and won the election.

The states have only limited authority in this area. The U.S. Constitution forbids them to exclude voters on the basis of race or gender, or to set a minimum age lower than 18. Federal law also forbids states to charge poll taxes or other fees to vote. There are other limits as well.