United States Electoral College

The Electoral College

The Electoral College is a special group that chooses the president and vice president of the United States every four years. It 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 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.

How It Works

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.