The Electoral College is a method of indirect popular election of the President of the United States. Instead of voting for a specific candidate, voters in an indirect popular election select a panel of individuals pledged to vote for a specific candidate. This is in contrast to a popular election where votes are cast for an individual candidate. For example, in a general presidential election, voters select electors to represent their vote in the Electoral College, and not for an individual presidential candidate.
The authors of the Constitution put this system in place so that careful and calm deliberation would lead to the selection of the best-qualified candidate. Voters in each state actually cast a vote for a block of electors who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate. These electors, in turn, vote for the presidential candidate. The number of electors for each state equals its Congressional representation.
After Election Day, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, these electors assemble in their state capitals, cast their ballots, and officially select the next President of the United States. Legally, the electors may vote for someone other than the candidate for whom they were pledged to vote. This phenomenon is known as the "unfaithful" or "faithless" elector. Generally, this does not happen. The candidate who receives the most votes in a state at the general election will be the candidate for whom the electors later cast their votes. The candidate who wins in a state is awarded all of that state’s Electoral College votes. Maine and Nebraska are exceptions to this winner-take-all rule.
The votes of the electors are then sent to Congress where the President of the Senate opens the certificates and counts the votes. This takes place on January 6, unless that date falls on a Sunday. In that case, the votes are counted on the next day. An absolute majority is necessary to prevail in the presidential and the vice presidential elections, that is, half the total plus one electoral votes are required. With 538 Electors, a candidate must receive at least 270 votes to be elected to the office of President or Vice President.
Should no presidential candidate receive an absolute majority, the House of Representatives determines who the next President will be. Each state may cast one vote and an absolute majority is needed to win. Similarly, the Senate decides who the next Vice President will be if there is no absolute majority after the Electoral College vote. Elections have been decided by Congress in the past. The House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson President in the election of 1800 when the Electoral College vote resulted in a tie. When the Electoral College vote was so split that none of the candidates received an absolute majority in the election of 1824, the House elected John Quincy Adams President. Richard Johnson was elected Vice President by the Senate when he failed to receive an absolute majority of electoral votes in the election of 1836.
The President-elect and Vice President-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th.
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How to Become President of the United States
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The Requirements
Lots of people dream of becoming President of the United States. But to officially run for office, a person needs to meet three basic requirements established by the U.S. Constitution (Article 2, Section 1).
A Presidential candidate must be:
- A natural born citizen (U.S. citizen from birth)
- At least 35 years old and
- A U.S. resident (permanently lives in the U.S.) for at least 14 years
Step 1: Primaries and Caucuses
People with similar ideas usually belong to the same political party. The two main parties in the U.S. are Republican and Democrat.
Many people want to be President. They campaign around the country and compete to try to win their party’s nomination.
In caucuses, party members meet, discuss, and vote for who they think would be the best party candidate.
In primaries, party members vote in a state election for the candidate they want to represent them in the general election.
Step 2: National Conventions and General Election
After the primaries and caucuses, each major party, Democrat and Republican, holds a national convention to select a Presidential nominee.
The party’s Presidential nominee announces his or her choice for Vice President.
The Presidential candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the general population.
On election day, people in every state cast their vote .
Step 3: The Electoral College
When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors.
The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the Electoral College.
Each elector casts one vote following the general election. The candidate who gets 270 votes or more wins.
The newly elected President and Vice President are then inaugurated on January 20th.
An election for president of the United States happens every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The most recent presidential election was November 3, 2020.
Primaries, Caucuses, and Political Conventions
The election process begins with primary elections and caucuses. These are two methods that states use to select a potential presidential nominee
What is the Role of the Electoral College?
During the general election
What is a Typical Presidential Election Cycle?
The presidential election process follows a typical cycle:
Spring of the year before an election – Candidates announce their intentions to run.
Summer of the year before an election through spring of the election year – Primary and caucus
Caucus: a statewide meeting held by members of a political party to choose a presidential candidate to support. debates take place.January to June of election year – States and parties hold primaries
Primary: an election held to determine which of a party's candidates will receive that party's nomination and be their sole candidate later in the general election. and caucuses.July to early September – Parties hold nominating conventions to choose their candidates.
September and October – Candidates participate in presidential debates.
Early November – Election Day
December – Electors
Elector: a person who is certified to represent their state's vote in the Electoral College. cast their votes in the Electoral College.Early January of the next calendar year – Congress counts the electoral votes.
January 20 – Inauguration Day
Before the general election, most candidates for president go through a series of state primaries and caucuses. Though primaries and caucuses are run differently, they both serve the same purpose. They let the states choose the major political parties’ nominees for the general election.
How State Primaries and Caucuses Work
State primaries are run by state and local governments. Voting happens through secret ballot.
Caucuses are private meetings run by political parties. They are held at the county, district, or precinct level. In most, participants divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support. Undecided voters form their own group. Each group gives speeches supporting its candidate and tries to get others to join its group. At the end, the number of voters in each group determines how many delegates each candidate has won.
Both primaries and caucuses can be “open,” “closed,” or some hybrid of the two.
During an open primary or caucus, people can vote for a candidate of any political party.
During a closed primary or caucus, only voters registered with that party can take part and vote.
“Semi-open” and “semi-closed” primaries and caucuses are variations of the two main types.
Learn which states have which types of primaries.
Awarding Delegates From the Primaries and Caucuses
At stake in each primary or caucus is a certain number of delegates. These are individuals who represent their state at national party conventions. The candidate who receives a majority of the party’s delegates wins the nomination. The parties have different numbers of delegates due to the rules involved in awarding them. Each party also has some unpledged delegates or superdelegates. These delegates are not bound to a specific candidate heading into the national convention.
When the primaries and caucuses are over, most political parties hold a national convention. This is when the winning candidates receive their nomination.
For information about your state's presidential primaries or caucuses, contact your state election office or the political party of your choice.
The president must:
Be a natural-born citizen of the United States
Be at least 35 years old
Have been a resident of the United States for 14 years
Anyone who meets these requirements can declare their candidacy for president. Once a candidate raises or spends more than $5,000 for their campaign, they must register with the Federal Election Commission. That includes naming a principal campaign committee to raise and spend campaign funds.
After the primaries and caucuses, most political parties hold national conventions.
What Happens at a National Political Convention?
To become the presidential nominee, a candidate typically has to win a majority of delegates. This usually happens through the party's state primaries and caucuses. State delegates go to the national convention to vote to confirm their choice of candidates.
But if no candidate gets the majority of a party's delegates during the primaries and caucuses, convention delegates choose the nominee. This happens through additional rounds of voting.
Types of Delegates at a National Convention
There are two main types of delegates.
- Pledged, or bound delegates must support the candidate they were awarded to through the primary or caucus process.
- Unpledged delegates or superdelegates can support any presidential candidate they choose.
Contested and Brokered Conventions
In rare cases, none of the party's candidates may have a majority of delegates going into the convention. The convention is then considered "contested." Delegates will pick their presidential nominee through one or more rounds of voting.
- In the first round of voting, pledged delegates usually have to vote for the candidate they were awarded to at the start of the convention. Unpledged delegates can vote for any candidate.
- Superdelegates cannot vote in the first round unless a candidate already has enough delegates through primaries and caucuses to get the nomination.
- If no nominee wins in the first round, the convention is considered "brokered." The pledged delegates may choose any candidate in later rounds of voting. Superdelegates can vote in these later rounds.
- Balloting continues until one candidate receives the required majority to win the nomination.
At the convention, the presidential nominee officially announces their selection of a vice presidential running mate.
Last Updated: September 13, 2022
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