Current:Home > MarketsWhat is the Electoral College and how does the US use it to elect presidents? -Ascend Finance Compass
What is the Electoral College and how does the US use it to elect presidents?
View
Date:2025-04-14 06:30:55
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 because of the Electoral College. So did George W. Bush in 2000.
The Electoral College is the unique American system of electing presidents. It is different from the popular vote, and it has an outsize impact on how candidates run and win campaigns. Republicans Trump and Bush lost the popular vote during their presidential runs but won the Electoral College to claim the nation’s top office.
Some Democrats charge that the system favors Republicans and they would rather the United States elect presidents by a simple majority vote. But the country’s framers set up the system in the Constitution, and it would require a constitutional amendment to change.
A look at the Electoral College and how it works, as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, compete for the White House on Election Day, Nov. 5:
What is the Electoral College?
The Electoral College is a 538-member body that elects a president. The framers of the Constitution set it up to give more power to the states and as a compromise to avoid having Congress decide the winner.
Each state’s electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in that state. The runner-up gets nothing — except in Nebraska and Maine where elector votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results.
To win the presidency, a candidate must secure 270 electoral votes — a majority of the 538 possible votes.
How is it different from the popular vote?
Under the Electoral College system, more weight is given to a single vote in a small state than to the vote of someone in a large state, leading to outcomes at times that have been at odds with the popular vote.
It also affects how candidates campaign. Because the outcome is almost certain in solidly Republican states and solidly Democratic states, candidates tend to focus most of their efforts on a handful of swing states that have split their votes in recent elections.
Who are the electors?
Electors are allocated based on how many representatives a state has in the House of Representatives, plus its two senators. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress.
It varies by state, but often the electors are picked by state parties. Members of Congress cannot serve as electors.
How and when are the votes counted?
After state election officials certify their elections, electors meet in their individual states — never as one body — to certify the election. This year, that will happen on Dec. 17.
If the two candidates have a tied number of votes, the election is thrown to the House, where each state’s congressional delegation gets one vote. That has happened only twice, in 1801 and 1825.
Once a state’s electors have certified the vote, they send a certificate to Congress. Congress then formally counts and certifies the vote at a special session on Jan. 6. The vice president presides as the envelopes for each state are opened and verified.
Can lawmakers object?
Lawmakers can object to a state’s results during the congressional certification, as several Republicans did after the 2020 election. On Jan. 6, 2021, the House and Senate both voted to reject GOP objections to the Arizona and Pennsylvania results.
After Trump tried to overturn his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden and his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, Congress updated the 1800s-era Electoral Count Act to make it harder to object and to more clearly lay out the vice president’s ceremonial role, among other changes. Trump had pressured Vice President Mike Pence to try and object to the results — something the vice president has no legal standing to do.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
- Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
Once Congress certifies the vote, the new or returning president will be inaugurated Jan. 20 on the steps of the Capitol.
____
Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (99212)
Related
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- A forgotten trove of rare video games could now be worth six figures
- Why is my hair falling out? Here’s how to treat excessive hair shedding.
- Former federal prison lieutenant sentenced to 3 years for failing to help sick inmate who later died
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Frances Sternhagen, Tony Award winner of 'Cheers' and 'Sex and the City' fame, dies at 93
- College Football Playoff rankings winners and losers: Top five, Liberty get good news
- Vice President Harris will attend COP28 climate conference in Dubai
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Kraft introduces new mac and cheese option without the cheese
Ranking
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Check your child’s iPhone for this new feature: The warning police are issuing to parents
- Oklahoma prepares to execute man for 2001 double slaying despite self-defense claim
- Kim’s sister rejects US offer of dialogue with North Korea and vows more satellite launches
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Thinking about a new iPhone? Try a factory reset instead to make your old device feel new
- A forgotten trove of rare video games could now be worth six figures
- When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Thousands of fake Facebook accounts shut down by Meta were primed to polarize voters ahead of 2024
Fantasy football rankings for Week 13: Unlucky bye week puts greater premium on stars
House Speaker Mike Johnson has reservations about expelling George Santos, says members should vote their conscience
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
China says US arms sales to Taiwan are turning the island into a ‘powder keg’
Death of Henry Kissinger met with polarized reaction around the world
Toppled White House Christmas tree is secured upright, and lighting show will happen as scheduled