Simone Lawson
The United States Electoral College is a group of presidential electors formed every four years to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. The College consists of 538 electors, with each state having the same number of electors as its members in Congress, including two Senators and a number of Representatives. A candidate needs a simple majority of 270 or more electoral votes to win the election. The Electoral College process is outlined in the U.S. Constitution, and while it does not provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President by citizens, it does allow for the selection of electors who will vote on their behalf.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of members | 538 |
| Members' title | Presidential electors |
| Members' role | Voting for the president and vice president of the United States |
| Member selection | Chosen by voters in each state |
| Member appointment | Appointed by the State Executive of each state |
| Member nomination | Each political party nominates its own candidates |
| Member election | Elected by each state and the District of Columbia |
| Voting date | Mid-December |
| Voting location | Members' respective state capitols |
| Voting process | Members meet and vote in their states |
| Majority required | 270 votes |
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What You'll Learn
Who are the electors?
The Electoral College is a group of presidential electors formed every four years during the US presidential election. The College decides who will be elected president and vice president of the United States. The College consists of 538 electors from the fifty states and Washington, D.C. Each state gets as many electors as it has members of Congress (House and Senate).
Electors are chosen by the citizens of each state. When a citizen votes for a presidential candidate, they are telling their state which candidate they want their state to vote for at the meeting of electors. The states use these general election results (also known as the popular vote) to appoint their electors. The winning candidate's state political party selects the individuals who will be electors. The electors are chosen based on their perceived party loyalty.
The US Constitution contains very few provisions relating to the qualifications of electors. Article II, section 1, clause 2 provides that no Senator, Representative, or person holding an office under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. As a historical matter, the 14th Amendment disqualifies state officials who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States from serving as electors.
Electors meet and vote in December, and the inaugurations of the president and vice president take place in January. Electors are required to vote in accord with their state's laws. Faithless electors, or those who do not vote in accord with their pledge, may face censure from their political party. They may also be fined, disqualified, and replaced by a substitute elector, or even prosecuted by their state.
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How are they chosen?
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It was established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.
Each state appoints electors using legal procedures determined by its legislature. Each state has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators. Including Washington, D.C.’s three electors, there are currently 538 electors in all. Each candidate running for President in a state has their own group of electors (known as a slate). The slates are generally chosen by the candidate’s political party in the state, but state laws vary on how the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are.
In most states, electors are chosen by a statewide winner-take-all popular vote. In this system, the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state receives all of that state's electoral votes. Since the mid-19th century, when all electors have been popularly chosen, the Electoral College has elected the candidate who received the most (though not necessarily a majority) popular votes nationwide, except in four elections: 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.
Maine and Nebraska are exceptions to the winner-take-all rule, assigning their electors using a proportional system. In these states, one elector is chosen per congressional district, and two electors are assigned to support the winner of the statewide popular vote.
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When do they vote?
The Electoral College is a process established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. It involves the selection of electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. The College consists of 538 electors, with each state having the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation.
The electors in the Electoral College vote in December, in the year of the election. For example, in the 2024 election, electors will meet and vote on December 17, 2024. The electors meet and vote in their respective states, and the votes are then sent to the President of the Senate.
Each Certificate of Vote must be signed by all electors, and a certificate of ascertainment must be attached. The Certificates of Vote must include the names of those who received an electoral vote for either the office of president or vice president. The electors certify these certificates, and copies are sent to the President of the Senate, the Archivist of the United States, the state's secretary of state, and the chief judge of the US district court where the electors met.
The votes are then counted by Congress in a joint session on January 6 of the following year. If January 6 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Congress may pass a law to change the date. During the joint session, members of the House and Senate meet in the House Chamber to conduct the official count of electoral votes. The Vice President of the United States, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results. The President of the Senate then declares the winners of the election, who take the oath of office and are sworn in as President and Vice President on January 20.
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How are votes counted?
The US Electoral College is a process, not a place. It was established by the Founding Fathers as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and a popular vote of qualified citizens. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, with each state getting as many electors as it has members of Congress.
The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. The voters in each state choose electors to serve in the Electoral College. The state executive of each state then signs the Certificate of Ascertainment to appoint the electors chosen in the general election. The electors meet and vote in December, and the inaugurations of the president and vice president take place in January.
Congress meets in a joint session on the 6th of January in the year following the meeting of the electors to count the electoral votes. Members of the House and Senate meet in the House Chamber to conduct the official count of electoral votes. The Vice President of the United States, as President of the Senate, presides over the count in a strictly ministerial manner and announces the results of the vote. The President of the Senate then declares who has been elected President and Vice President of the United States. The President-elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President on January 20th in the year following the general election.
Each state is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in its US Congressional delegation—two votes for its Senators plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts. Under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution, the District of Columbia is allocated three electors and treated like a state for the purposes of the Electoral College.
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 use a proportional system, assigning one elector per congressional district and two electors for the ticket with the highest statewide vote.
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Who does the Electoral College elect?
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It was established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The College is a group of presidential electors formed every four years during the presidential election. The College consists of 538 electors, with each state getting as many electors as it has members of Congress (the number of Senators, which is two, plus the number of Representatives for that state).
The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States. The process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. The voters in each state choose electors to serve in the Electoral College. These electors are chosen based on how they have pledged to vote for President and Vice President. When voting for a Presidential candidate, voters are telling their state which candidate they want their state to vote for at the meeting of electors.
The electors meet and vote in December, and the inaugurations of the President and Vice President take place in January. A candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors, more than half of all electors, to win the presidential election. The President-elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20th in the year following the general election.
The Electoral College process is described in Article Two of the Constitution. The Twenty-third Amendment granted the federal District of Columbia three electors, bringing the total number of electors from 535 to 538.
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Frequently asked questions
There are 538 members in the US Electoral College.
They are called presidential electors.
Each state gets as many electors as it has members of Congress (House and Senate), i.e. two Senators plus the number of Representatives for that state.
The District of Columbia has three electors and is treated like a state for the purposes of the Electoral College.
A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.
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