What is the Electoral College process?
Table of Contents
- 1 What is the Electoral College process?
- 2 What is the purpose of the Electoral College process?
- 3 Where in the Constitution is the Electoral College described?
- 4 How are electoral votes assigned?
- 5 Which branch is selected by the Electoral College?
- 6 What is the difference between the popular vote and the electoral vote?
- 7 What is the Electoral College and how does it work?
- 8 What would it take to abolish the Electoral College?
What is the Electoral College process?
The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the Electoral College. Each elector casts one vote following the general election. The candidate who gets 270 votes or more wins.
What is the Electoral College in simple terms?
The United States Electoral College is a name used to describe the official 538 Presidential electors who come together every four years during the presidential election to give their official votes for President and Vice President of the United States. No state can have fewer than three electors.
What is the purpose of the Electoral College process?
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president.
What type of election is the Electoral College?
Election of the President and Vice President: Electoral College. The Electoral College is a method of indirect popular election of the President of the United States. Instead of voting for a specific candidate, voters in an indirect popular election select a panel of individuals pledged to vote for a specific candidate …
Where in the Constitution is the Electoral College described?
Established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States.
Where does the Electoral College meet?
Hold the Meeting of electors On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, the electors meet in their respective States. The State legislature designates where in the State the meeting will take place, usually in the State capital.
How are electoral votes assigned?
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.
Who appoints the Electoral College?
Generally, the parties either nominate slates of potential electors at their State party conventions or they chose them by a vote of the party’s central committee. This happens in each State for each party by whatever rules the State party and (sometimes) the national party have for the process.
Which branch is selected by the Electoral College?
The President is elected by eligible United States citizens who vote and by the Electoral College system. Senators and representatives are elected by voters in their states.
What is each state’s Electoral College?
Electoral College Certificates and Votes by State
| State | Number of Electoral Votes for Each State | For President |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 6 | 6 |
| California | 55 | – |
| Colorado | 9 | – |
| Connecticut | 7 | – |
What is the difference between the popular vote and the electoral vote?
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.
Is the Electoral College based on popular vote?
Electors. Most states require that all electoral votes go to the candidate who receives the most votes in that state. After state election officials certify the popular vote of each state, the winning slate of electors meet in the state capital and cast two ballots—one for Vice President and one for President.
What is the Electoral College and how does it work?
What is the process? The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. How many electors are there?
What happens if there is a deadlock in the Electoral College?
In the case of an Electoral College deadlock or if no candidate receives the majority of votes, a “contingent election” is held. The election of the President goes to the House of Representatives.
What would it take to abolish the Electoral College?
Because the procedure for electing the president is part of the Constitution, a Constitutional Amendment (which requires two-thirds approval in both houses of Congress plus approval by 38 states) would be required to abolish the Electoral College. [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
How many proposals have been introduced in Congress to change the Electoral College?
Reference sources indicate that over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject.