| − | The "Electoral College" is how the Constitution requires Americans to elect a president every four years. The Electoral College gives each State the right to decide, for itself, how it will allocate its share of the vote for the candidates. | + | The "Electoral College" is how the Constitution, in Article II, Section 1, clauses 2 through 4, requires Americans to elect a president. The Electoral College gives each State the right to decide, for itself, how it will allocate its share of the vote for the candidates. |
| | Today, there are a total of 538 total votes in the Electoral College, which are divided among the 50 States (plus several territories) based on a sum of their number of members in the House of Representatives and Senate. For example, New Jersey has 12 members of the House of Representatives and (like every State) has two U.S. Senators, for a total of 14 Electoral College votes. States with larger populations have a greater vote in the Electoral College: California has 55, Texas has 38, and Florida has 29. | | Today, there are a total of 538 total votes in the Electoral College, which are divided among the 50 States (plus several territories) based on a sum of their number of members in the House of Representatives and Senate. For example, New Jersey has 12 members of the House of Representatives and (like every State) has two U.S. Senators, for a total of 14 Electoral College votes. States with larger populations have a greater vote in the Electoral College: California has 55, Texas has 38, and Florida has 29. |
| | There are other advantages to the Electoral College system. No national recounts of votes are required in close presidential elections under this system. In 1960, John F Kennedy received 34,220,984 votes, or 49.7%, compared with Richard Nixon, who won 34,108,157 votes, or 49.6%. Barely 100,000 votes, out of more than 68 million cast, separated the two candidates. In the absence of an Electoral College system, a nationwide recount would have taken many weeks and might have changed the result. But with the Electoral College, the overall outcome did not depend on the results in Illinois, as Kennedy's margin of victory in the Electoral College was large enough that he would still have a majority even if Nixon won Illinois. | | There are other advantages to the Electoral College system. No national recounts of votes are required in close presidential elections under this system. In 1960, John F Kennedy received 34,220,984 votes, or 49.7%, compared with Richard Nixon, who won 34,108,157 votes, or 49.6%. Barely 100,000 votes, out of more than 68 million cast, separated the two candidates. In the absence of an Electoral College system, a nationwide recount would have taken many weeks and might have changed the result. But with the Electoral College, the overall outcome did not depend on the results in Illinois, as Kennedy's margin of victory in the Electoral College was large enough that he would still have a majority even if Nixon won Illinois. |