Understanding the Electoral College: How the President and Vice President of the US are Elected

Who elects the President and Vice President?

Electoral College

The President and Vice President of the United States are elected by the Electoral College. When voters go to the polls on Election Day, they are actually voting for a slate of electors who have pledged to cast their votes for that particular candidate if they win the popular vote in their state. The number of electors each state has is determined by the number of representatives it has in Congress, which is based on the state’s population.

In total, there are 538 electors in the Electoral College. A candidate needs to receive 270 or more electoral votes to win the presidency. The Vice President is the running mate of the winning presidential candidate and is also elected by the Electoral College.

It’s important to note that there have been instances in which a candidate has won the popular vote but lost the election because they didn’t win enough electoral votes. This happened most recently in 2016 when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College to Donald Trump.

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