Quick Answer: How Does The Electoral College Work?

How does the popular vote affect the electoral college?

When citizens cast their ballots for president in the popular vote, they elect a slate of electors. Electors then cast the votes that decide who becomes president of the United States. Usually, electoral votes align with the popular vote in an election.

Who picks the Electoral College?

Who selects the electors? Choosing each State’s electors is a two-part process. First, the political parties in each State choose slates of potential electors sometime before the general election. Second, during the general election, the voters in each State select their State’s electors by casting their ballots.

What is popular vote vs Electoral College?

The “national popular vote” is the sum of all the votes cast in the general election, nationwide. The presidential elections of 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016 produced an Electoral College winner who did not receive the most votes in the general election.

How does a state decide electoral votes?

Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.

Can the popular vote override the Electoral College?

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact does not eliminate the Electoral College or affect faithless elector laws; it merely changes how electors are pledged by the participating states.

What are the three major flaws of the electoral college system?

Three criticisms of the College are made:

• It is “undemocratic;”
• It permits the election of a candidate who does not win the most votes; and.
• Its winner-takes-all approach cancels the votes of the losing candidates in each state.

Can electors vote for whoever they want?

Specifically, the opinion held that electors have a constitutional right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice and are not bound by any prior pledges they may have made.

Is the Electoral College winner take all?

Voters in each state choose electors by casting a vote for the presidential candidate of their choice. The slate winning the most popular votes is the winner. Only two states, Nebraska and Maine, do not follow this winner-take-all method. In those states, electoral votes are proportionally allocated.

How many states have certified their electoral votes?

Electoral College Certificates and Votes by State

State	Number of Electoral Votes for Each State	For Vice-President
Alaska	3	3
Arizona	11	–
Arkansas	6	6
California	55	–

50 

Why did they create the Electoral College?

The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S. Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by popular vote or by Congress. Several weeks after the general election, electors from each state meet in their state capitals and cast their official vote for president and vice president.

What happens if no one gets 270 electoral votes 2020?

What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes? If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the Presidential election leaves the Electoral College process and moves to Congress. The Senate elects the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most electoral votes.

Why do some states have more electoral votes?

There are a total of 538 electoral votes, and the number of votes each state receives is proportional to its size — the bigger the state’s population the more “votes” it gets. For California, this means we get 55 votes (2 senators and 53 members of the House of Representatives) — the most of any state.

What is the majority of electoral votes?

Of the current 538 electors, an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president.