Step 1
Number of electors for each state determined
Each state is allotted one elector for each U.S. representative and senator it has. Washington D.C. receives three electors, the same number of electors as the least populous state.
Step 2
Electors are nominated
Mostly, electors are nominated at state party conventions and their names are given to the state’s election official.
[The most challenging job of the 2016 race: Editing the candidates’ Wikipedia pages]
Step 3
Voters select electors on Election Day
Voters in each state cast their ballot for the slate of electors representing their choice of presidential ticket. Electors’ names do not usually appear on the ballot.
[Planning to write in Paul Ryan or Bernie Sanders? It won’t count in most states.]
Step 4
Electoral votes are tallied for states/jurisdictions
The slate of electors for the presidential ticket that receives the most votes is appointed and all of the electoral votes for that state go to those candidates (Except in Maine and Nebraska, which each give two at-large delegates to whoever wins the state and the rest to whoever wins in each congressional district.)
Step 5
Majority of electoral votes determines the winner
A candidate needs to win a majority of 538 electoral votes — 270 — to be elected president. If no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the House chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president.
[What one swing state can teach us about political polarization in America]
Step 6
Electors ceremonially cast ballots for president
In December, in a largely ceremonial gesture, the electors cast ballots for president and vice president and are expected to follow the popular vote of their state. The votes are counted at a joint session of Congress, and the president is officially elected.
[Everything that is more popular than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump]
More stories
Hate our electoral system? Here’s who could have been president under other setups
We explored what would happen under different electoral systems — and found that adjusted rules could have changed the outcome in half of the presidential elections since 2000.
Most of Trump’s charts skew the data. And not always in his favor.
The Trump campaign has used a combination of cherry-picked polls and misleading data visualization to paint a cheerier picture of their prospects on election day.
