What is the Role of the Electoral College?

History
The origins of the Electoral College go all the way back to the drafting of the Constitution.  The Electoral College was conceived as a compromise between having the people directly elect the President and Vice President and having the people’s representatives elect them through state legislatures. 

How does it Work?
Each Presidential election, political parties (or independent candidates) in each state submit a list of individuals pledged to their candidate to the state’s chief election official.  These individuals are known as electors.  Each party’s list must be equal in number to the state’s electoral vote (e.g., in a state with seven electoral votes, each party submits seven electors).  The number of each state’s electoral votes is determined by its total representation in Congress: two Senators plus the number of the state’s Representatives, which is based on population.  While the Constitution does not specify the method of selecting electors, most state parties do so at state conventions or central party meetings.

On Election Day, while voters are casting their vote for a specific Presidential candidate on the ballot, they are technically voting for the electors, who in turn vote for the President.  Whichever Presidential candidate wins the popular vote in a state receives all of the electoral votes for that state (the exceptions to this rule are Maine and Nebraska, where two electors are chosen by statewide popular vote and the remaining electors are chosen by the popular vote within each Congressional district).  Whoever wins a clear majority of the 538 electoral votes available (270 electoral votes) wins the Presidency. 

If no single candidate gets a clear majority of electoral votes, the election of the President is referred to the House of Representatives, following the procedure outlined in the Constitution. 
The last time this occurred was in 1824.  Because no Presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes (131 electoral votes were required at the time), the U.S. House of Representatives voted to elect John Quincy Adams, who won fewer votes than Andrew Jackson in the popular election, as president of the United States.

Electoral College Pros and Cons
Critics of the Electoral College argue that it minimizes the importance of individual votes; supporters argue that it helps give less populous states a more equal footing in the selection of the nation’s executive leadership—and therefore requires Presidential candidates to give consideration to states that they might otherwise be inclined to ignore. 

Where Can I Get More Information on the Electoral College?
To learn more about the Electoral College, visit www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/.