How does the electoral college work? A simple explanation of the 2024 presidential election

Since its founding, the United States has used the Electoral College to elect the nation’s president. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House.

Five presidents in the nation’s history won the presidency without winning the popular vote — most recently Donald Trump in 2016. His opponent that year, Hillary Clinton, won over 2.8 million more votes than Trump nationally, but she lost enough key states to be defeated in the Electoral College, 306 to 232.

In 2020, Trump lost both the popular vote and the electoral college to Joe Biden. The electoral vote was 306 to 232but in favor of the Democrats.

Trump is again the GOP nominee in election in 2024 in what is shaping up to be a close race against Vice President Kamala Harris — with over 82 million early voting ballots.

Here’s how the Electoral College works, as well as details about its history and the role individual voters play in the outcome of presidential elections.

What is the Electoral College and how does it work?

The Electoral College is the process by which Americans elect their president and vice president indirectly through their state’s electors. Candidates must secure 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 up for grabs, to win the White House.

Before the general election, the states choose electoral lists. After voters cast their ballots in November, the candidate who wins the popular vote determines which list of electors—Republican, Democrat, or a third party—will cast electoral college votes for president.

In most states, it’s winner-take-all – whoever gets the most votes in the state wins all his electoral votes.

In Maine and Nebraska, the rules are slightly different. They have one proportional representation system with the winner of each congressional district awarded one electoral vote and the winner of the statewide vote awarded each state’s remaining two electoral votes. Some Republicans hoped to change Nebraska’s rules to a winner-take-all model, since one of its electoral votes often goes to the Democrat, but the effort fell short.

Electors meet in their respective states in mid-December to cast their votes for the president. The meeting takes place the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December which falls on December 17 this year.

There is no constitutional provision or federal law that requires voters to vote for the candidate they are promised, although they almost always do. “Faithless voters” are rare, as the voters are selected by the parties.

How many voters are there in the electoral college?

There are a total of 538 electors in the 50 states and Washington, DC

What determines how many electoral votes a state gets?

Each state is allocated electors based on the size of its congressional delegation. Several states with the smallest populations—Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming—have three electors each, as they have one representative in the House and two senators, while California, the largest, has 54 electoral votes. Washington, DC, is also assigned three electors.

States can gain or lose electors as populations shift, and there have been a number of changes since the 2020 presidential election.

In the redistricting that followed the 2020 census, Texas gained two electoral votes and five states gained one each, while seven states lost one electoral vote.

Who do the voters choose?

The voters are chosen before the general election by their respective political party. Their sole purpose is to meet in their state after the November election and cast two votes – one for president and one for vice president.

Who are the voters?

Each party’s electoral list may include state and local elected officials, party leaders, community activists and others associated with the party. They are typically elected “in recognition of their service and dedication to the political party,” the The National Archives explains.

There are no major qualifications, but members of Congress and certain other officials are barred from attending, along with anyone who has engaged in rebellion or sedition.

What happens if there is a tie in the electoral college?

In the rare event that there is one tie in the Electoral College – which in the modern era would mean each candidate winning 269 electoral votes – members of the newly elected House of Representatives would determine the outcome of the presidential election, while the Senate would choose the vice president.

This type of quota election would also take place if neither candidate wins a majority. This can occur if a third-party candidate wins some of the electoral votes, or if there are more “faithless voters” who break their promise and vote for a candidate other than the one who won the state referendum.

If it went to the House, each state would get a single vote, regardless of the size of its congressional delegation, and the 50 congressional delegations (the District of Columbia would not participate) would choose one of the top three presidential candidates.

The vice president would be elected by a simple majority in the Senate, and all senators would have one vote. As a result, it is possible that the President and Vice President may be from different parties.

Since the 12th Amendment was ratified in 1804, there have been two quota elections.

In 1824, four presidential candidates split the vote, and no candidate won an electoral majority. John Quincy Adams won election to the House, even though Andrew Jackson had won a plurality of the popular and electoral votes.

And in 1837, Martin Van Buren won a majority of the electoral vote, but Virginia’s 23 electors refused to support his vice presidential candidate, Richard Johnson, and became faithless electors. That left Johnson one vote short, leading to a Senate quorum election, which he easily won.

Why do we vote if the electoral college chooses the president?

Five Presidents in American History has lost the popular vote and still managed to win the election, leading some to wonder why the nation continues to keep the Electoral College in place. The Electoral College was established in Article II of the Constitution and could be abolished by constitutional amendment. But it is a difficult road. Amendments require a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the states, or 38 of the current 50.

In one 2023 Pew Research poll65% of Americans said the president should be elected through the popular vote, not the Electoral College. Hundreds of suggestions have been introduced in Congress to change the process over the years. There is also a multi-state effort called National Popular Vote Interstate Compactwhich has been adopted by 17 states and Washington, D,C. That proposal would ensure that the winner of the popular vote gets all the electoral votes of the states that signed the agreement — but it would only take effect if enough states agree.

So why keep the Electoral College in place if there is so much frustration from Americans? According to The National Archivesthe Founding Fathers saw the Electoral College as a middle ground between giving the decision to Congress or to a direct vote of the citizens. Proponents say it lasts less populous states from being underrepresented by discouraging candidates from disproportionately campaigning in more densely populated urban centres.

What is the history of the Electoral College?

The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution in 1787. The term “electoral college” does not appear in the nation’s historical document, but the word “electors” does, the national archive noticed.

The ratification of 12th Amendment in 1804 changed some of the rules for the Electoral College. It required e.g separate electoral votes are cast for the president and vice president. With ratification of the 23rd Amendment in 1961 the District of Columbia received three electors.