How Does it Work?

The Electoral College is made up of delegates from each state, called "electors." The number of electors from each state is equal to that states representation in congress. For example, a state with two senators and five representatives would have seven electors. After each election, the electors meet to formally select the President.

Winner Takes All
In each state, the presidential candidate with the most votes gets all the electoral votes for that state. That means that winning the states with the greatest number of electoral votes is essential to winning the election, no matter how much of the popular vote a candidate can collect in other states. The map below shows the electoral votes for each state.