Electoral College (US)

The Electoral College is the system the U.S. uses to elect the president. Each state has a certain number of electors based on its total congressional representation (House and Senate members). When citizens vote in a presidential election, they are actually selecting a slate of electors who have pledged to support a specific candidate. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state typically receives all that state's electors (except Maine and Nebraska, which split). Electors then officially cast their votes in December, and a majority of 270 out of 538 electoral votes is needed to become president.