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 ### Understanding the Electoral College System

The Quirks and Confusion of Presidential Election.

Read More : Americans are going to the polls. Here’s how the US election works

### Understanding the Electoral College

Every four years, there’s a topic that dominates conversations: the Electoral College. It might sound like a school, but it’s actually the system used in the United States to elect the president. This process can be quite confusing, so let’s break it down simply.

When you vote for president, you’re not directly voting for the candidate, like you would for a class president. Instead, your vote helps choose electors who represent your state. These electors are the ones who actually cast the official votes for president. 

In total, there are 538 electors, and to win the presidency, a candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes. Each state has a certain number of electors based on its population and representation in Congress. Most states follow a winner-takes-all rule, meaning the candidate with the most votes in that state gets all of its electoral votes. However, a couple of states, like Maine and Nebraska, distribute their votes differently.

This system can sometimes lead to situations where a candidate wins the presidency without winning the nationwide popular vote, which adds to the confusion and debate about how the Electoral College works.

### How Presidential Elections Work

When your school votes for a class president, it’s easy: the student with the most votes wins. But presidential elections are more complicated. When people vote for president, their votes don’t go directly to candidates like Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Instead, the votes go to a group called the Electoral College. 

This group is made up of people who represent each state and actually choose the president. When you vote, you’re really helping to select these electors, who are pledged to support specific candidates. Each state has a different number of electors based on its population. This means that how people vote in each state affects how many electors go to each candidate, ultimately deciding who becomes president.


### What is the Electoral College?


The Electoral College is a group made up of electors who represent voters in each state. These electors are usually people involved in politics, like activists or volunteers. You can think of them as team captains who speak for the people in their state, like those from Pennsylvania, Colorado, or Wisconsin.

Each state has a different number of electors based on its population. When the time comes to vote, each elector gets one electoral vote. This means that the electors are the ones who officially choose the president based on how the people in their state voted.


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### How Election Day and the Electoral College Work



On Election Day, voters like your parents cast their ballots in their states, and officials count all the votes. Here’s the twist: the candidate who gets the most votes in a state wins all of that state’s Electoral College votes. For example, if a candidate gets 51 percent of the votes in New York, they receive all 28 electoral votes from that state.

Each state has a different number of electoral votes based on its population. California has the most with 54 votes, while smaller states like Alaska and Delaware have just three. In total, there are 538 electoral votes across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. To win the presidency, a candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes.


Electors in almost every state are required by law to vote for the candidate their state chose. After the votes are tallied, states certify the results, and on December 17, electors meet to cast their votes. Congress counts these votes on January 6, and the new president is inaugurated on January 20.


The Electoral College was created because the founders of America had different ideas about how to elect a president. They wanted to balance power between larger and smaller states. However, many people feel this system isn’t fair, believing that the candidate with the most overall votes should win. For instance, in 2016, Hillary Clinton received almost three million more votes than Donald Trump but lost the election. While some want to change the system, the Electoral College remains in place as the way the U.S. elects its president.


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