On Election Day, voters will see the names of the presidential candidates on the ballot. But they won’t be voting directly for those candidates. Instead, they will be voting for electors in the Electoral College. That’s the group that officially elects the U.S. president and vice president. It holds its vote in December.

Electors are people who promise to support a certain candidate. If a voter chooses Donald Trump, he or she is actually choosing electors who promise to vote for Trump. If a voter picks Joe Biden, he or she is really picking electors who promise to vote for Biden.

On Election Day, American voters will see the names of the presidential candidates on the ballot. But they won’t be voting directly for those candidates. Instead, they will be casting votes for their state’s electors in the Electoral College. That’s the group that officially elects the U.S. president and vice president. It holds its vote in December, a few weeks after Election Day, and sends its votes to the U.S. Congress to be counted. 

Electors are people who pledge to support a particular candidate and his or her running mate. So if a voter selects Donald Trump on Election Day, he or she is actually choosing electors who pledge to vote for Trump. If a voter picks Joe Biden, he or she is really choosing electors who promise to vote for Biden. 

The Electoral College has 538 electors. They are divided among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Each state gets a certain number of electors based on how many senators and representatives it has in the U.S. Congress. Each state has two senators plus a different number of representatives. That number depends on the state’s population.

For example, California has a big population. It has two senators and 53 representatives. So in the Electoral College, it has 55 electors. Wyoming is the state with the fewest people. It has two senators and one representative. It gets only three electors in the Electoral College. Having more people means more electors—and a bigger say in the election.

The Electoral College is currently made up of 538 electors. Each state gets a specific number of electors based on how many senators and representatives it has in the U.S. Congress. (Remember, each state has two senators plus a number of representatives determined by that state’s population.) 

For example, California is our nation’s most populous state. It has two senators and 53 representatives. So in the Electoral College, it has a total of 55 electors. Wyoming is the state with the fewest people. It has two senators and one representative. It gets only three electors in the Electoral College. In the end, having more people means more electors—and a bigger say in the election. A state’s number of electors can change over time if the population grows or shrinks. Washington, D.C., has three electors even though it has no senators or representatives.

The Electoral College is as old as the U.S. Constitution! In 1787, the Framers of the Constitution met to plan America’s government. They had trouble agreeing on how the president would be elected. Some of them said that Congress should choose the president. They argued that lawmakers were more informed than most people. Other Framers disagreed. They thought that Americans should be able to vote directly for the president.

The Framers reached an agreement. They decided that electing the president would be the job of special electors. They said each state could decide how to pick its electors. Soon states were holding popular votes to choose their electors. In a popular vote, voters say which candidate they want to be president. This decides which electors get sent to the Electoral College.

The Electoral College is as old as the U.S. Constitution! When the document’s Framers met in 1787 to plan America’s system of government, they had trouble agreeing on how the nation’s president would be elected. Some of the Framers said that lawmakers in the U.S. Congress should choose the president. After all, they argued, members of Congress were more informed than the average citizen. But other Framers disagreed. They thought that everyday Americans should be able to vote directly for their president. 

With the clock ticking, the Framers compromised by setting up the Electoral College. Electing the president would be the job of special electors. The Constitution left it up to each state to decide how to pick its electors. Soon, states were holding popular elections to choose their electors. In a popular election, voters indicate which candidate they want to win the presidency. This determines which electors a state sends to the Electoral College.

To win, a candidate must win more than half of the electoral votes. That means getting at least 270 of the 538 votes. It can be tricky. Most states have a “winner takes all” policy. That means the candidate who gets the most popular votes in a state gets all of that state’s electors.

Candidates work hard to get electoral votes. One way they do this is by identifying swing states. Those are states where it is hard to predict how voters will vote. Either party stands a good chance of winning. Candidates spend a lot of time campaigning in swing states!

To win the Electoral College and become president, a candidate must win a majority of the electoral votes. That means snagging at least 270 out of the 538 votes. As a candidate works to reach that magic number, he or she keeps two things in mind. First, most states have a “winner takes all” policy. The candidate who gets the most popular votes in a state gets all of that state’s electors. (Two states—Nebraska and Maine—are exceptions. There, the electors can be divided up among multiple candidates.)

Second, some states have a history of voting for a particular party. For example, if a state’s voters have voted Democrat in all recent presidential elections, the Democratic candidate might consider that state safe—and the Republican candidate might decide not to waste much time campaigning there. Candidates of both main parties focus their energy on swing states—states where either main candidate stands a good chance of winning. A candidate typically needs to win at least a few swing states to get 270 electoral votes.

A candidate can lose the nationwide popular vote but still get the most electoral votes and win the presidency. This has happened several times. The last time was in the 2016 election, when Donald Trump was elected. 

How does it happen? Remember that most states have a “winner takes all” policy for choosing electors. For example, let’s say a state has 29 electoral votes. Candidate A wins the popular vote there by just a couple of votes but still gets all 29 electoral votes. In another state, Candidate B wins the popular vote by a whopping 1 million votes. But that state has just six electoral votes. 

See what can happen? Because of this, some Americans argue that the Electoral College system is unfair. Others say the system works just as the Framers of the Constitution planned.

That’s right—it is possible for a candidate to lose the nationwide popular vote but still get the most electoral votes and win the presidency. This has occurred a handful of times, most recently in the 2016 election. To understand how, remember the “winner takes all” policy for choosing electors mentioned earlier. For example, let’s say a state has 29 electoral votes. Candidate A wins the popular vote in that state by just a couple of votes but still gets all 29 electoral votes. In another state, Candidate B wins the popular vote by a whopping 1 million votes. But that state has just six electoral votes. See what would happen? If you look at just those two states, Candidate B has almost a million more popular votes than Candidate A. But Candidate A has 23 more electoral votes—which are the ones that really count. 

Because of this, some Americans argue that the Electoral College system is unfair and should end. Others say the system works exactly as the Constitution’s Framers intended.

It’s possible to have an election in which no candidate gets 270 electoral votes. The Electoral College vote could be a two-way tie, with each main-party candidate scoring exactly 269 votes. In such a case, the Constitution says that the presidential election would move to the House of Representatives. There, each state would get one vote for president. Representatives from each state would work together to decide which candidate got their vote. A candidate would have to get at least 26 votes to be elected. 

It’s possible to have an election in which no candidate gets 270 electoral votes. The Electoral College vote could be a two-way tie, with each main-party candidate scoring exactly 269 votes. Or there might be a popular third-party candidate who throws things off. (A third party is exactly what it sounds like—a political party other than the Democratic and Republican parties.) In such an election, the third-party candidate could win enough electoral votes to keep either of the major-party candidates from reaching 270. In such a case, the Constitution says that the presidential election would move to the House of Representatives. There, each state would get one vote for president. Representatives from each state would work together to decide which candidate got their vote. A candidate would have to get at least 26 votes to be elected. 

If you think our elections could not possibly get more complicated, think again. Though the House of Representatives would choose the nation’s president in cases like the ones described above, it would be the job of the Senate to choose the vice president! Fortunately, the last time the U.S. Congress needed to weigh in was 1836.