How does the Electoral College work?
Americans vote at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens polling place on Nov. 8, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
During a presidential election in the United States, a candidate is not chosen based on their national popularity, but rather based on how many Electoral College votes they get.
The Electoral College is a group of intermediaries who choose the president and vice president of the U.S.
It consists of 538 members, one for each U.S. senator and representative.
How many electors does each state have?
How does the electoral college work?
The Electoral College was devised at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It was a compromise between those who wanted direct popular elections for president and those who preferred to have Congress decide.
Once votes are cast for whichever presidential candidate you’ve chosen, the vote goes to a statewide tally.
In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the winner gets all of the electoral votes for that state.
For example, California has 55 electoral votes. Once voters cast their ballots, whoever has the higher tally of votes, they will then get all 55 electoral votes.
A candidate needs at least 270 electors to win, that’s more than half of the total electoral votes.
How is a state’s electoral number determined?
The number of electoral votes that each state has are determined based on the data collected by the Census Bureau.
Typically, a state has two senators at minimum and at least one congressional district. The number of congressional districts is based on how many people live in that state, according to the 270 to Win website.
Popular vote v. electoral votes
Yes, there is a difference.
It is possible for a presidential candidate to win the popular vote but still lose the election because they were unable to get a majority of electoral votes.
In other U.S. elections, candidates are directly elected based on the popular vote. Only the president and vice president are not directly elected by citizens. They are chosen based on the Electoral College process, according to USA.gov.
Do other countries have electoral colleges?
Yes.
Electoral colleges can be found in France, Germany, Estonia, Madagascar, Pakistan and other countries — but not all of them use it to choose a chief executive.
Historically, the College of Cardinals — who select the Pope — is an electoral college. And the same can be said for the prince-electors who determined the Holy Roman Emperor.