FAQ: The Electoral College

There's more to the election than the popular vote.

What Is the Electoral College? - You've reasearched the candidates and you're following the polls, but do you know anything about the Electoral College? BET.com takes a look at the often forgotten process that's the most important part of this year's presidential election. —Naeesa Aziz  (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
What Is the Electoral College? (Continued) - Put simply: The Electoral College picks the president. Every four years, 538 electors across the 50 states cast their vote for president. Each state is allotted a different amount of electors depending on the number of members in its Congressional delegation and a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to declare a winner.  (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
So, How Does My Vote Factor In?  - In most states, electoral votes are awarded based on the popular vote. So, if a candidate wins the popular vote in your state, he will likely win all of that state's electoral votes as well. This tricky distinction played out in 2000 when presidential candidate Al Gore challenged the electoral win of George W. Bush, who received the support of Florida’s electoral votes after a narrow popular vote win.What If No Candidate Gets 270 Electoral Votes? - If no candidate manages to gather the 270 electoral votes needed to win, the House of Representatives elects the president from the three candidates with the highest number of electoral votes. The Senate chooses the vice president from the two vice presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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What Is the Electoral College? - You've reasearched the candidates and you're following the polls, but do you know anything about the Electoral College? BET.com takes a look at the often forgotten process that's the most important part of this year's presidential election. —Naeesa Aziz  (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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