What is the Electoral College?
How does it work?
The Electoral College is a group of people chosen by each state to formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Each state is assigned a certain number of electors based on their representation in Congress (number of Senators and Representatives).
During a presidential election, voters go to the polls to cast their vote for their preferred candidate. In most states, the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state receives all of the state's electoral votes. The candidate who receives a majority of electoral votes (270 out of 538) is elected as the President.
The Electoral College system has been criticized for potentially allowing a candidate to win the presidency without winning the popular vote, as was the case in the 2000 and 2016 elections.