what is the electoral college
The Electoral College is the process that determines how the President of the United States is elected. The college is made up of 538 electors, which is made up of the total 435 Representatives, 100 Senators, and the 3 electors given to the District of Columbia. To win the Presidency, any given candidate must get 270 of these electors votes. When you vote in the polls, you are not voting directly for a candidate, you are instead voting for your state’s electors. Each political party chooses their electors, and who gets to place their vote is determined by who wins the popular vote in your state.
For example in California, if the democratic nominee for president wins the popular vote, then the electors that the democratic party choose will get to vote directly for the President. Even if the democratic nominee wins the popular election in any state, the democratic elector can choose not to vote for the democratic nominee. These electors are better known as “faithless electors.” There aren’t very many faithless electors, the last recorded one being in 2004.