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The Electoral College: An Overview

What is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is a process, not a place, established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution as a compromise between electing the president by popular vote and electing the president by Congress.

How does the Electoral College work?

Each state is assigned a number of electors equal to its number of senators and representatives in Congress. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes.

To win the presidency, a candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes. If no candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the president from among the top three electoral college finishers.

Why do we have the Electoral College?

The Electoral College was created as a compromise between electing the president by popular vote and electing the president by Congress. The Founding Fathers believed that the Electoral College would prevent demagogues from winning the presidency and that it would protect the interests of small states.

Criticisms of the Electoral College

The Electoral College has been criticized for being undemocratic, as it is possible for a candidate to win the presidency without winning the popular vote. The Electoral College has also been criticized for giving too much power to small states.

Proposed reforms to the Electoral College

There have been many proposed reforms to the Electoral College, including abolishing it altogether, replacing it with a popular vote, and changing the way that electors are allocated.