United States Electoral College

For electoral colleges in general, see Electoral college. For other uses and regions, see Electoral college (disambiguation).

The number of electoral votes, out of 538, allocated to each state and the District of Columbia for presidential elections held in 2024 and to be held in 2028 based on the 2020 census. Every jurisdiction is entitled to at least 3.
In the 2024 presidential election, held using 2020 census data, Kamala Harris is projected to receive 226 (●) and Donald Trump is projected to receive 312 (●) of the total 538 electoral votes.
In Maine (upper-right) and Nebraska (center), the small circled numbers indicate congressional districts. These are the only 2 states to use a district method for some of their allocated electors, instead of a complete winner-takes-all party block voting.
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In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years during the presidential election for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president. The process is described in Article Two of the Constitution.[1] The number of electoral votes exercised by each state is equal to that state's congressional delegation which is the number of Senators (two) plus the number of Representatives for that state. Each state appoints electors using legal procedures determined by its legislature. Federal office holders, including senators and representatives, cannot be electors. Additionally, the Twenty-third Amendment granted the federal District of Columbia three electors (bringing the total number from 535 to 538). A simple majority of electoral votes (270 or more) is required to elect the president and vice president. If no candidate achieves a majority, a contingent election is held by the House of Representatives, to elect the president, and by the Senate, to elect the vice president.

The states and the District of Columbia hold a statewide or district-wide popular vote on Election Day in November to choose electors based upon how they have pledged to vote for president and vice president, with some state laws prohibiting faithless electors. All states except Maine and Nebraska use a party block voting, or general ticket method, to choose their electors, meaning all their electors go to one winning ticket. Maine and Nebraska choose one elector per congressional district and two electors for the ticket with the highest statewide vote. The electors meet and vote in December, and the inaugurations of the president and vice president take place in January.

The merit of the electoral college system has been a matter of ongoing debate in the United States since its inception at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, becoming more controversial by the latter years of the 19th century, up to the present day.[2][3] More resolutions have been submitted to amend the Electoral College mechanism than any other part of the constitution.[4] An amendment that would have abolished the system was approved by the House in 1969, but failed to move past the Senate.[5]

Supporters argue that it requires presidential candidates to have broad appeal across the country to win, while critics argue that it is not representative of the popular will of the nation.[a] Winner-take-all systems, especially with representation not proportional to population, do not align with the principle of "one person, one vote".[b][9] Critics object to the inequity that, due to the distribution of electors, individual citizens in states with smaller populations have more voting power than those in larger states. Because the number of electors each state appoints is equal to the size of its congressional delegation, each state is entitled to at least three electors regardless of its population, and the apportionment of the statutorily fixed number of the rest is only roughly proportional. This allocation has contributed to runners-up of the nationwide popular vote being elected president in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.[10][11] In addition, faithless electors may not vote in accord with their pledge.[12][c] A further objection is that swing states receive the most attention from candidates.[14] By the end of the 20th century, electoral colleges had been abandoned by all other democracies around the world in favor of direct elections for an executive president.[15][16]:215

  1. ^ "Article II". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Karimi, Faith (October 10, 2020). "Why the Electoral College has long been controversial". CNN. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  3. ^ Keim, Andy. "Mitch McConnell Defends the Electoral College". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Bolotnikova, Marina N. (July 6, 2020). "Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?". Harvard Magazine.
  5. ^ Ziblatt, Daniel; Levitsky, Steven (September 5, 2023). "How American Democracy Fell So Far Behind". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  6. ^ Beeman 2010, pp. 129–130
  7. ^ Beeman 2010, p. 135
  8. ^ Guelzo, Allen (April 2, 2018). "In Defense of the Electoral College". National Affairs. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Lounsbury, Jud (November 17, 2016). "One Person One Vote? Depends on Where You Live". The Progressive. Madison, Wisconsin: Progressive, Inc. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  10. ^ Neale, Thomas H. (October 6, 2017). "Electoral College Reform: Contemporary Issues for Congress" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  11. ^ Mahler, Jonathan; Eder, Steve (November 10, 2016). "The Electoral College Is Hated by Many. So Why Does It Endure?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  12. ^ West, Darrell M. (2020). "It's Time to Abolish the Electoral College" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Should We Abolish the Electoral College?". Stanford Magazine. September 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  14. ^ Tropp, Rachel (February 21, 2017). "The Case Against the Electoral College". Harvard Political Review. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  15. ^ Collin, Richard Oliver; Martin, Pamela L. (January 1, 2012). An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442218031.
  16. ^ Levitsky, Steven; Ziblatt, Daniel (2023). Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point (First ed.). New York: Crown. ISBN 978-0-593-44307-1.


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