The Electoral College in the U.S. Presidential Election is composed of 538 electors. Each U.S. state is allocated a varying number of electoral votes based on its total representation in Congress : 435 Representatives and 100 Senators plus 3 votes from the District of Columbia (Washington D.C., the U.S. capital). To win the presidency and become the U.S. President, a candidate must secure an absolute majority of 270 electoral votes (270 out of 538). In most U.S. states, the winner-takes-all system is followed, meaning that the candidate who receives the most popular votes in a U.S. state will receive all of the U.S. state’s electoral votes. This is the reason why candidates compete for electoral votes rather than the popular vote in the U.S. Presidential Election. However, the U.S. states of Maine and Nebraska allocate their electoral votes proportionally based on the popular vote in the different congressional districts (they are mentioned in maps displayed in this website).
The U.S. Presidential Election in the United States is held every four years to elect the President and Vice President of the country. The candidates from various political parties campaign across each U.S. state to secure popular votes from citizens. However, the actual determination of the President is not solely based on the popular vote but on the electoral votes. Indeed, the U.S. Presidential Election is organized through a complex process involving several steps, electoral votes being the most critical point of attention.
