When Americans cast their votes today, they are not directly electing the presidential candidates themselves. Voters are casting ballots for competing slates of “electors” who will in turn cast the actual votes for president and vice president on December 17. Collectively, the electors from all 50 states and the District of Columbia are referred to the “Electoral College.”
The presidential candidate who wins the majority of the popular vote on election night does not necessarily win the White House. In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win a majority of votes in the Electoral College.
Here’s how the Electoral College works:
The Electoral College is comprised of 538 electors who represent all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Each state has between three and 54 electoral votes. The number of electors from any given state is determined by adding its total number of US senators and US representatives. (D.C. gets three electoral votes—the number it would have if it were a state and the minimum number of electors possible for any state.)
A candidate needs a majority of electoral votes – 270 – to win.
In 48 states and the District of Columbia, all electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins a plurality of the popular vote in that state. This is known as the “winner-take-all” system. Two states – Maine and Nebraska – do not award their electoral votes according to a winner-take-all system.
After the general election, electors meet in their respective states on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December to cast separate ballots for president and vice president. This year, electors will meet on December 17. The meeting is usually held in the state capitol or state house building.
The Electoral College results are counted and certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6.
