Explainer: Electoral college votes the final test, candidates aim for 270-mark

They vote for presidential electors in their particular state – and these groups from all states come together to form the 538-member electoral college that picks the next president

PTI

Washington, Updated At : 08:27 PM Nov 05, 2024 IST

People vote in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day, at Doerfler Public School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., November 5, 2024. REUTERS

Almost always, the candidate who gets the most votes nationwide wins the White House. But, technically, Americans don't vote directly for their president.

They vote for presidential electors in their particular state – and these groups from all states come together to form the 538-member electoral college that picks the next president. The candidate who gets 270 or more electoral votes gets the top job for the next four years.

Broadly, each state gets a certain number of electors based on its representation in the US House and Senate. So, smaller states get fewer electors. California, which is the most populous, has 54. The six least populous states and Washington DC have just three each.

The winner takes all under this system. So, if Democrat Kamala Harris wins more popular votes than Republican Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, she wins the entire slate of all 19 electors who represent the swing state.

This is ensured by a combination of custom and laws that restrain electors from voting against the popular vote in their state. Several states require them to sign pledges on this. Others have a system of fines and more severe legal action to deter them.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld that laws restraining "faithless electors" are constitutional. In any case, the electors are supposed to be eminent people, and not expected to go “rogue” once the polling is over.

But in 2016 there were seven such electors – an unusually high number. Two Texas electors defied the convention and Republican Donald Trump ended up with 304 votes when he could have got 306.

Five other electors went against Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. This was more than the combined total of “faithless electors” between 1976 and that year.

Candidates who win the popular vote nationwide usually end up winning the most electoral college votes as well. But not always.

In the last six presidential elections, the popular vote winners have lost twice. In 2016, Clinton won nearly three million more votes than Trump. But he won the electoral college to become President.

Voters lined up on Tuesday morning nationwide to choose between Harris and Trump, who is aiming for another term at the White House.