The Electoral College is a process in the United States used to elect the president and vice president. It consists of 538 electors who are selected based on the total number of a state's congressional delegation—each state gets a number of electors equal to its number of House representatives plus two Senators, with the District of Columbia having three electors. Citizens do not vote directly for presidential candidates; instead, when they vote in the general election, they are actually voting for a slate of electors pledged to their candidate. To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes, at least 270 out of 538. If no candidate reaches this majority, the election is decided by the House of Representatives for president and the Senate for vice president. The process is established by the U.S. Constitution and involves the electors meeting in their respective states to cast official votes, which are then counted by Congress.