Electoral College

E419

The Electoral College is the body of electors established by the U.S. Constitution that formally selects the President and Vice President of the United States based on state-by-state election results.


Statements (59)
Predicate Object
instanceOf constitutional institution
electoral college
administeredBy state governments
alsoKnownAs United States Electoral College
appliesToOffice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
composedOf electors from each state
electors from the District of Columbia
constitutionalBasis Article II of the United States Constitution
Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States of America
created 1787
criticizedFor discouraging voter turnout in safe states
focus on swing states
overrepresentation of small states
possibility of electing a candidate who did not win the national popular vote
electorAllocationRule District of Columbia has number of electors equal to the least populous state
number of U.S. Senators plus number of U.S. Representatives for each state
electorSelectionMethod state law
elects President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
exceptionStateAllocation Maine
Nebraska
faithlessElectorsRegulation some states bind electors to popular vote results
firstUsedInElection 1789
foundedByDocument United States Constitution
governingFederalStatute Electoral Count Act of 1887
hasPart presidential electors
vice-presidential electors
influencedByConcept federalism
indirect democracy
republicanism
legalStatusOfElectors can be regulated by state law
location United States of America
MaineAllocationMethod congressional district method
majorityNeededToWinPresidency 270
majorityNeededToWinVicePresidency 270
meetsOn first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following the general election
NebraskaAllocationMethod congressional district method
notableSupremeCourtCase Bush v. Gore
Chiafalo v. Washington
phenomenon faithless electors
presidingOfficerForCount Vice President of the United States
purpose to formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States
reformProposalsInclude National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
direct national popular vote
district-based allocation of electors
proportional allocation of electors
relatedTo United States Congress
United States Supreme Court
United States presidential election
United States vice presidential election
selectionMethod indirect election
totalElectors 538
typicalVotingSystem winner-take-all by state
updatedByStatute Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022
voteCertificationBy Congress of the United States
voteCountedIn joint session of Congress

Referenced by (34)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
1888 United States presidential election
1948 United States presidential election
1968 United States presidential election
1988 United States presidential election
2012 United States presidential election
2016 United States presidential election
2024 United States presidential election
United States presidential election
electoralSystem
2024 United States presidential election ("United States Electoral College vote count in Congress")
Electoral Count Act of 1887 ("Electoral College (United States)")
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
Three-Fifths Compromise ("Electoral College of the United States")
relatedTo
President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
electedBy
Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution
subject
Electoral College ("United States Electoral College")
alsoKnownAs
President of the United States
appointedBy
Framers of the United States Constitution ("Electoral College system")
compromise
Section 1 of Article II ("Electoral College system (original form)")
defines
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
doesNotAbolish
Presidency of the United States
electionSystem
Peter B. Chiafalo ("United States Electoral College")
electoralSystemConcerned
Section 1 of Article II
establishes
United States federal elections
feature
United States presidential election
finalDecisionBody
Chiafalo v. Washington
hasLegalIssue
U.S. states
haveRepresentationIn
2020 United States presidential election ("United States Electoral College")
involvedInstitution
Colorado Department of State v. Baca
legalSubject
NPVIC
relatedConcept
1852 United States presidential election ("United States Electoral College")
tookPlaceIn
2004 United States presidential election
usesSystem
1960 United States presidential election
votingSystem

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