Every four years American citizens 18 years and older are eligible to cast their vote for the president of the United States. Seems simple – but many voters don’t realize they aren’t directly voting for the president. Why? Because we use a system called the Electoral College to elect the president and vice president.
What is the Electoral College?
Well first thing’s first: the Electoral College isn’t a place. The Electoral College was created by delegates in 1787 as a compromise between electing the president by a vote in Congress, or electing through a popular vote by qualified citizens.
The Founders set up the Electoral College for a few reasons:1
To balance the interests of northern and southern statesTo put a buffer between the people and electing the president; a chosen group of people would be able to object to the people’s voteThey believed that not all voters were informed enough to choose a leaderThe Electoral College is a system where citizens indirectly elect the president and vice president through a body of 538 electors.
What are electors?
Electors are people chosen by their state parties prior to the general election who cast their vote for president on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. On Election Day, voters cast their vote for president and the winner of the popular vote in each state is awarded their party’s slate of electors.
Electors almost always cast their vote for the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state, which explains why we have election results available on Election Day. However, the Constitution does not require them to do so. There have been a few instances where electors defected from their pledged vote, but it has not changed the outcome of an election.
The number of electors for each state is equal to the number of U.S. Senators and Representatives in the state’s delegation. To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a minimum of 270 electoral votes.
What does “winner takes all” mean with electoral votes?
“Winner takes all” is implemented in all but two states: Nebraska and Maine. “Winner takes all” means all Electoral College votes will go to one candidate based on the state’s popular vote.
For example: Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes. Regardless of how much one candidate wins the popular margin, all 20 electoral votes will go to that one candidate.
In Nebraska and Maine, Electoral College votes are assigned in part by the presidential results in each of their congressional districts.
For example: Nebraska has 5 electoral votes. Instead of “winner takes all,” two electoral votes will be allocated to the winner of the state’s popular vote and then one electoral vote to the winner of the popular vote in each Congressional district.
What happens if a Trump oponent doesn’t receive 270 votes?If no other candidate does not receives 270 Electoral College votes, the president is then selected by the House of Representatives. Each state gets a single vote.
What is the Popular Vote?
When we receive the results from any presidential election, we are give two different results: the Electoral College and the popular vote. The popular vote is simply which candidate has received the most total votes.