| | 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. | | 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 D.C.) based on a sum of their number of members in the House of Representatives and Senate.<ref>The votes in the American territories -- Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands -- do not count towards the Electoral College.</ref> 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. |
| | All states except for Maine and Nebraska choose a "winner take all" system, whereby the candidate who wins the most votes in the State then receives '''''all''''' of the State's votes for president. The extremely close presidential election of 2000 between Bush and Gore illustrated how this works. | | All states except for Maine and Nebraska choose a "winner take all" system, whereby the candidate who wins the most votes in the State then receives '''''all''''' of the State's votes for president. The extremely close presidential election of 2000 between Bush and Gore illustrated how this works. |