The Electoral College is the system the United States uses to elect its president every four years. Rather than a single national vote, 538 electors allocated across the states and Washington, DC, decide the election. A candidate must win a majority—270 electoral votes—to become president.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
The US presidential election hinges on the Electoral College, not the popular vote—a system created in 1787 as a compromise. Candidates must win 270 of 538 electoral votes, allocated by each state’s congressional representation.
This podcast episode traces how the Electoral College emerged from rushed compromises, slavery-era power politics, and party maneuvering—showing why the system looks the way it does today and why efforts to change it have repeatedly stalled.
A Pew Research Center survey found that 61% of Americans favor eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular vote, with concerns about fairness and representation cited most often.
This podcast episode examines the closest attempts in US history to eliminate the Electoral College, focusing on a major 1960s reform push—and why, despite broad support, it ultimately failed.
This article explains how the Constitution leaves most rules for choosing electors to the states. Today, parties typically select elector slates through state conventions, rewarding loyal supporters who formally cast votes weeks after Election Day.
A presidential candidate is declared the winner once they reach 270 of the Electoral College’s 538 votes. This interactive map from 270 to win shows how winning individual states shifts the path to victory on election night.
This explainer traces how the Founding Fathers designed the Electoral College as a middle ground—balancing fears of direct popular rule against concerns about giving Congress the power to choose the president.
Occasionally, Electoral College members vote against their state’s popular choice—known as “faithless electors.” Though these rare defections have drawn attention and prompted new state laws, none have ever altered the final result of a presidential race.
This article examines how the Electoral College emerged from political compromise, including efforts to placate slave-owning Southern states and concerns that Northern states would dominate a direct national presidential vote.
This overview explains how states receive electors equal to their senators and representatives, and details the legal framework governing how the Electoral College functions during presidential elections.