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Introduction


Number of Electoral College votes per U.S. state (click for larger version)
The U.S. Electoral College is the body of elected officials who actually vote for the president of the United States. The writers of the Constitution developed the concept of an indirect presidential election to make sure that every state, whether large or small, has proportional representation in the presidential election. A presidential candidate thus needs support throughout the country to win. Each state holds its own election and chooses electors who vote for president when the Electoral College meets. Currently, the number of a state’s electors is the same as the number of its representatives to Congress. Although the Electoral College has been quite controversial in the last few elections, the system still does the job its creators intended.

Essential Facts

  1. In most states, the Electoral College works on a “winner-take-all” system: the candidate with the most votes in the state gets all of that state’s electoral votes. The only two states that differ are Maine and Nebraska, which choose two electors by the statewide popular vote and the rest by the vote in each Congressional district.
  2. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of electoral votes, the U.S. House of Representatives chooses the president from the top three candidates.
  3. Four times in American history a presidential candidate has won by electoral votes but not by the popular vote. The most recent instance is in the 2000 election between George Bush and Al Gore.
  4. Supporters of the Electoral College system often feel that the process gives proportional weight to the states so that each one has some say in the election. The Electoral College also maintains stability by encouraging a two-party system, and it gives minority viewpoints a greater voice in the political process.
  5. Arguments against the Electoral College center on the fact that the candidate with the most popular votes can lose. Some opponents also fear that the Electoral College causes fewer voters to take part in the political process.