The Electoral College is a two-step way the United States uses to pick the president. In simple terms: you voting in your state helps choose a group of electors, and those electors then vote for the president. How it works in plain language

• Each state gets a certain number of electors: equal to its total number of lawmakers in Congress (two senators plus representatives). The total is 538 electors nationwide.

• On Election Day, you vote for your preferred presidential candidate. In 48 states, whichever candidate wins the statewide popular vote gets all of that state’s electoral votes (winner-take-all). Maine and Nebraska allocate some electors by congressional district, with the statewide winner getting two extra votes.

• Electors meet in December in their state capitals and cast their votes for president and vice president. These votes are then sent to Congress to be counted in a January joint session.

• A candidate needs a majority of electoral votes to win. That means at least 270 out of 538 electors. If a candidate reaches 270, they are declared president-elect; if no one reaches 270, the election is decided by the House of Representatives from the top three finishers, with each state delegation casting one vote for president.

• The popular vote in each state effectively determines which slate of electors is chosen, and thus the outcome is decided by the Electoral College, not the national popular vote directly. There have been faithless electors in history, but they have not changed the overall outcome in recent times.

Pros and common questions

• Why this system? It was designed as a compromise to balance influence between states with larger and smaller populations and to avoid direct national popular vote for president.

• What about “third-party” candidates? If they win enough states to reach 270 electoral votes, they can win even without a large national popular vote, though that is rare; most elections are decided by one of the two major parties.

• What if no candidate gets 270? The House selects the president from the top three electoral vote-getters; each state delegation gets one vote, so outcome can hinge on a few states.

If you’d like, I can tailor this explanation to a specific audience (kids, adults new to civics, or a quick classroom handout) or add a simple flowchart- style step-by-step summary.