What is the Electoral College? Answer…
A – The president and vice president of the United States are not elected by popular vote, but by the electoral college–a system devised by the founding fathers in the Constitution. When people cast their votes, they’re actually voting for party slates of electors pledged to the candidates. Generally, the candidate who wins the most number of popular votes in a state wins the state’s entire slate of electoral votes. The candidate with the majority of electoral votes–at least 270 out of 538 possible–wins. Each state is allotted as many electors as it has members in Congress. States with larger populations have more electoral votes. So it is possible to win the popular vote but not the presidency. That actually happened in the 2000 Presidential Election. The electors are chosen by a variety of methods according to state–including through primaries, party conventions and party organizations.
A – The president and vice president of the United States are not elected by popular vote, but by the electoral college–a system devised by the founding fathers in the Constitution. When people cast their votes, they’re actually voting for party slates of electors pledged to the candidates. Generally, the candidate who wins the most number of popular votes in a state wins the state’s entire slate of electoral votes. The candidate with the majority of electoral votes–at least 270 out of 538 possible–wins. Each state is allotted as many electors as it has members in Congress. States with larger populations have more electoral votes. So it is possible to win the popular vote but not the presidency. That actually happened in the 2000 Presidential Election. The electors are chosen by a variety of methods according to state–including through primaries, party conventions and party organizations.
