Political Dictionary
The Electoral College is the constitutional system through which electors formally choose the U.S. president and vice president.
Definition
The Electoral College is the process established by the Constitution for electing the president and vice president. Each state receives electors equal to its total number of senators and representatives, and the District of Columbia receives three under the Twenty-Third Amendment. A majority of appointed electoral votes is normally required to win.
Why It Matters
The system makes presidential elections a state-by-state contest rather than a single national popular vote. It affects campaign strategy, gives particular attention to competitive states, and can produce a president who did not receive the most votes nationwide.
How It Works
Voters choose a presidential ticket and associated electors. After the election, electors meet in their states and cast separate votes for president and vice president. Congress counts the electoral votes. If no candidate wins a majority, the House chooses the president by state delegation.
History
The framers created the Electoral College as part of a compromise among competing ideas about executive selection. The Twelfth Amendment changed the voting procedure after the election of 1800. State winner-take-all rules later became dominant.
Example
A candidate can win several populous states by narrow margins and lose other states by large margins, producing a different Electoral College result from the national popular vote.
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