Definition: Electoral College

For the path to the Presidency just remember that Pencils Need Erasers … Primary + Nominating Convention + Electoral College.

Primaries are mini-elections in the states that determine which candidate from each political party will be chosen in a nominating convention. Those candidates nominated will then run in the November Presidential Election. Whoever gets the most votes in the Electoral College, wins the election.

The Electoral College, rather than the American people directly, determines who becomes President. On Election Day, in all 50 states, people vote for electors who have sworn to vote for a candidate. The number of Electoral Votes a state has is equal to the number of Representatives plus two, for the two Senators each state has.  You need to know that to win a Presidential Election, a candidate must receive a majority of all possible Electoral Votes. Popular votes are irrelevant. If no candidate gets a majority, then the House of Representatives chooses the President.

There are 538 votes up for grabs. That’s 435 Representatives + 100 Senators + Washington DC gets 3 (23^rd Amendment).

At the end of the night, all of the points are added up. Whoever reaches 270 votes (which is a majority of the 538 possible votes), wins the election.

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