United States Electoral College

In the United States, the Electoral College is a special group that chooses the president and vice president every four years. This group is formed during the presidential election as described in Article Two of the Constitution. Each state has a certain number of electors based on its congressional delegation, which includes senators and Representatives. The District of Columbia also has three electors thanks to the Twenty-third Amendment, bringing the total number of electors to 538.

People in each state vote on Election Day in November to choose which group of electors will vote for president and vice president. Most states give all their electors to one winning group, but Maine and Nebraska split their electors between different groups based on how people vote in each area. The electors meet in December to cast their votes, and the new president and vice president are officially chosen in January.

The way the Electoral College works has been discussed and debated since it was created in 1787. Some people think it is a good way to make sure candidates try to get votes from many different places, while others believe it does not always match what most people want. Many Americans would prefer to choose the president by a simple nationwide vote instead of using the Electoral College.

Procedure

Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution says that each state picks a number of electors equal to its total members in Congress — this includes two senators plus the number of representatives the state has. Each state legislature decides how these electors are chosen, but federal office holders cannot be electors.

After the national presidential election day in November, states choose their electors. In most states, the person who wins the most votes gets all of that state’s electoral votes. In Maine and Nebraska, two votes go to the overall winner, and the rest are split among winners in each congressional district. Washington, D.C. also chooses three electors in the same way.

Electors meet in their state capital in December to vote. Their votes are sent to Congress, where they are counted in January by a meeting of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, led by the vice president.

If no one gets enough votes, a special election happens. The House picks the president, and the Senate picks the vice president. The new president and vice president are inaugurated on January 20.

Since 1964, there have been 538 electors. This number comes from each state’s total in Congress, plus three more for Washington, D.C., as allowed by the Twenty-third Amendment.

Background

The Electoral College was chosen as the way to elect the president near the end of the Constitutional Convention. This happened because smaller states and states with slaves wanted more power. They thought this system would give them an advantage.

The idea for the Electoral College came from debates during the convention. Some leaders wanted Congress to choose the president, but others thought this might cause problems. Instead, they decided to have a group of electors from each state choose the president. The number of electors a state gets depends on how many representatives it has in Congress. This was a compromise to make sure all states had a fair say in choosing the president.

History

The United States Electoral College is the group of people chosen to vote for the president and vice president every four years. This process is described in the Constitution.

Originally, each elector could cast two votes for president, but not for vice president. The person with the most votes would become president, and the one with the second most votes would become vice president.

Over time, the way electors are chosen changed. At first, many states chose their electors through their legislatures. Later, most states began to choose electors through popular votes by the people. Today, all electors are chosen by popular vote in each state.

The system has also changed with the creation of political parties and the way campaigns are run. These changes have affected how elections are conducted and who wins.

Modern mechanics

The president and vice president of the United States are chosen by the Electoral College, which has 538 electors from the fifty states and Washington, D.C.. Each state selects its electors through its legislature.

Since the 1824 election, most states have chosen their electors based on who wins the most votes in the state on Election Day. Right now, Maine and Nebraska are different because they use a special method since 1972 and 1992. In most states, the list of electors for the winning candidate will vote for that candidate. Electors usually vote for the candidate they promised to support.

A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency or vice presidency. If no one gets this, the House of Representatives chooses the president from the top three vote-getters, and the Senate chooses the vice president from the top two.

While there is a national total of popular votes, these only help decide the electors for each state.

Electors

Apportionment

Each state's number of electors matches the number of its representatives in Congress plus two for its senators. Every state gets at least one representative, and the rest are shared based on population from the United States census. Right now, there are 538 electors: 435 representatives, 100 senators from the fifty states, and three from Washington, D.C.

The six states with the most electors are California (54), Texas (40), Florida (30), New York (28), Illinois (19), and Pennsylvania (19). The District of Columbia and the six least populous states—Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming—have three electors each.

Nominations

Political parties usually pick a group of potential electors. On Election Day, voters choose a ticket, which also picks the electors for that ticket.

Candidates for elector are chosen by state parties before Election Day. In some states, voters pick them in primaries, while in others, parties or conventions choose them. Some states have rules to stop electors from changing their vote.

Selection process

Each state decides how to choose its electors, but no one who holds a government job can be an elector. All states now choose electors by popular vote. Most states use a "winner-take-all" system where the candidate with the most votes gets all the electors. Maine and Nebraska use a different method where each congressional district awards one elector, and the statewide winner gets the remaining two.

Electors meet in their state capitals in December to cast their votes for president and vice president.

Meetings

Electors meet in their state capitals to cast their votes. They follow similar steps in each state. After checking who is elected, they choose leaders and record-keepers. Then they vote for president and vice president.

Each state sends certificates of their votes to the President of the Senate, the Archivist of the United States, the state's secretary of state, and a federal court. These certificates are collected and prepared for a meeting of Congress.

Faithless electors

Sometimes an elector votes for someone different from the candidate they promised to support. This is rare because electors are usually loyal to their party. Some states have laws to stop this, and it has never changed the election result.

Joint session of Congress

Congress meets in a special session to count the electoral votes and declare the winners. This usually happens on January 6 after the election. The vice president of the United States usually leads the meeting, but sometimes the president pro tempore of the Senate does. Members of Congress count the votes, and if there are any disputes, they discuss and vote on them.

If there are no disputes, the votes are added up, and the winners are announced.

Contingencies

Contingent presidential election by House

If no candidate gets enough electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the president from the top three vote-getters. Each state has one vote, and a candidate needs at least 26 states to win.

Contingent vice presidential election by Senate

If no candidate gets enough votes for vice president, the Senate chooses from the top two vote-getters. Each senator votes individually, and a candidate needs at least 51 senators to win.

Deadlocked election

If the House of Representatives cannot choose a president by Inauguration Day, the vice president-elect becomes acting president until they do. Congress can also provide other ways to choose an acting president.

Continuity of government and peaceful transitions of power

The Electoral College was created to ensure calm and steady changes between presidents. There have been concerns about safety during transitions, but plans are in place to keep the government running smoothly.

Current electoral vote distribution

* The Twenty-third Amendment gives D.C. the same number of electors as the least populous state, which is always three.

** Two of Maine's four electors and three of Nebraska's five are chosen using the Congressional district method. The other two in each state are chosen based on the statewide vote.

Chronological table

See also: Electoral vote changes between United States presidential elections

Source: Presidential Elections 1789–2000 at Psephos (Adam Carr's Election Archive)
Note: In 1788, 1792, 1796, and 1800, each elector cast two votes for president.

Alternative methods of choosing electors

Before the "short ballot" became common in the early 1900s, the most common way to pick presidential electors was through the general ticket. This system is similar to today’s method. In the general ticket, voters chose individual candidates for elector. The short ballot, used today, lets voters pick an entire group of electors instead.

Both the general ticket and the short ballot are often called at-large or winner-takes-all voting. Different states started using the short ballot at different times. For example, North Carolina and Ohio began using it in 1932. Alabama kept using the general ticket until 1960 and was one of the last states to switch.

The Constitution allows each state to decide how to choose its electors. This was shown in two Supreme Court cases. In McPherson v. Blacker, the Court said states can choose how to pick electors as long as their legislature decides. In Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board, the Court agreed with this idea. But in Bush v. Gore, some justices said state constitutions might limit what the legislature can do.

Appointment by state legislature

In the earliest elections, many states let their legislatures pick electors. In 1792 and 1800, most states chose electors this way. Even in 1824, some states did. Sometimes, legislatures picked electors directly. Other times, they chose from a group picked by voters. By 1828, only Delaware and South Carolina still used this method. Delaware stopped in 1832, but South Carolina kept using it until 1860. After that, South Carolina used voters in elections starting in 1868.

After 1832, only a few states used legislative appointment again:

• In 1848, Massachusetts had a rule that if no candidate got a majority, the legislature would pick. This happened that year, and the legislature gave all votes to one party.
• In 1864, Nevada joined the country just before the election and had to pick legislators.
• In 1868, Florida also picked legislators because it joined too late for elections.
• In 1876, Colorado did the same because it didn’t have time or money for an election.

Electoral districts

Another old method was to split states into electoral districts. Voters in each district picked their elector. This was like how states now pick representatives, but each state had two more districts than today. This system could be unfair because of gerrymandering.

Congressional district method

Two places, Maine and Nebraska, use a special way to pick electors. They give one elector to the winner of each area, like how representatives are picked. They also give two electors to the winner of the whole state. This can make the results fairer but sometimes still looks like the winner takes all. For example, in 1992, one candidate won all of Nebraska’s votes with just 47% of the people voting for them.

Maine started this method in 1972, and Nebraska in 1992. Sometimes, states can split their votes. In 2008, Nebraska split its votes for the first time. In 2016, Maine also split its votes. This happened again in 2020.

Proportional vote

In a proportional system, electors would be picked based on how many people voted for each candidate, not just who got the most votes in the whole state.

Impacts and reception

Research shows that many Americans prefer choosing the president by direct vote rather than through the Electoral College system. Critics say this system can lead to outcomes where the candidate with the most votes nationwide does not win the election.

The Electoral College often leads campaigns to focus only on a few key states, sometimes called swing states, while many other states receive little attention. This system can also mean that voters in smaller states have more influence than those in larger states. Some argue this system reduces motivation for people to vote, except in those key states. Additionally, the Electoral College can hide problems within states, such as difficulties some groups face when trying to vote.

People living in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and Guam cannot vote in presidential elections, which some scholars say makes the process less democratic. The system also tends to make it harder for smaller parties to win elections.

Some supporters of the Electoral College argue it helps maintain the balance between state and federal power, ensuring that each state has a role in choosing the president. They believe it prevents too much control by a central government and protects against outside influence in elections.

Efforts to abolish or reform

Main article: Efforts to reform the United States Electoral College

See also: Electoral College abolition amendment

Many ideas have been shared to change how the United States picks its president. Since 1800, over 700 plans to change or end the Electoral College have been suggested in Congress. People who support these changes say the current system does not let everyone vote directly, gives smaller states more power, and might let a candidate become president even if they did not get the most votes. None of these ideas have been approved by enough parts of Congress and the states to change the Constitution. It is hard to change the Constitution in the United States, which is why these efforts have not succeeded. People also worry about how the Electoral College affects fairness and how well all states are represented.

1969–1970: Bayh–Celler amendment

The United States came closest to ending the Electoral College in 1969 and 1970. After the 91st Congress (1969–1971), Richard Nixon won the presidency with fewer popular votes than Hubert Humphrey. To address this, a plan was made to replace the Electoral College with a system where the candidate with the most votes nationwide would win, as long as they got at least 40% of the votes. If no one got 40%, there would be a second vote between the top two.

The plan passed the House of Representatives but faced strong opposition in the Senate, especially from senators from smaller states and Southern states. They argued that ending the Electoral College would reduce their states' influence. The Senate did not get enough votes to approve the plan, so it was never changed.

Carter proposal

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter suggested changing the Electoral College to a system where the candidate with the most votes nationwide would win. He said this would make sure the person who gets the most votes becomes president. He did not suggest a specific way to make this change but let Congress decide.

Recent proposals to abolish

Since 2019, there have been ideas to change the Electoral College so the president is chosen by popular vote instead. These ideas do not need a candidate to get a certain number of votes to win.

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

Main article: National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

See also: Constitutionality of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

As of April 2026, eighteen states and the District of Columbia have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. If enough states join, they will promise their electors to the candidate who wins the most votes nationwide. This compact uses part of the Constitution that lets states decide how to choose their electors. Some people think it might need approval from Congress, but others believe it can work as it is.

Litigation based on the 14th amendment

Some groups have argued that the way states give all their electors to one candidate treats voters unequally. They have tried to change this in courts in California, Massachusetts, Texas and South Carolina, but these efforts have not succeeded.