How does the electoral college work?

The Electoral College is the system the United States uses to elect its president and vice president. Instead of a direct popular vote deciding the winner, voters in each state actually choose a group of representatives called electors, who then cast the official votes for president. Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to its total number of Senators (always 2) plus its number of Representatives in the House, which varies based on population. For example, a large state like California has 55 electors, while a smaller state like Delaware has 3. There are a total of 538 electors nationwide. To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes—at least 270. Electors are typically chosen by political parties within each state, often being party loyalists or officials. On Election Day, when voters cast their ballots for president, they are actually voting for their party’s slate of electors. Most states use a "winner-take-all" system, where the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state gets all its electoral votes (except Maine and Nebraska, which allocate electoral votes proportionally). After the general election, these electors meet in their respective states in December to cast their official votes for president and vice president. These votes are then sent to Congress, where they are counted in a joint session in January. The candidate with the majority of electoral votes becomes president. If no candidate gets a majority, the House of Representatives decides the president, with each state delegation having one vote. In summary, the Electoral College is an indirect system where electors chosen by the states formally elect the president, balancing state influence and population in the process.