What is the Electoral College?

The President of the United States of America is indirectly elected by the citizens through a “college of electors”, created in 1787 by the framers of the Constitution (Article II, Section 1). When you vote for president, you are actually casting a vote for your candidate's electors.There are a total of 538 electors in the Electoral College. A candidate must receive 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

How does the Electoral College work?

Electors are allocated to each state based on their representation in Congress. Every state is allocated 2 electors as every state has 2 United States Senators, plus a number of votes equal to the number of its members in the U. S. House of Representatives. Arizona has 9 Congressional Districts (therefore 9 House of Representatives) so Arizona is allocated a total of 11 electors. The number of congressional districts allocated to each state is based on population.

When an official presidential candidate files their paperwork to get their name placed on the state's general election ballot, they must file a nomination paper for themselves, their vice-presidential running mate, and their electors. Arizona voters will see at the top of their ballot the candidates running for presidential, their vice-presidential running mate, and the names of their 11 electors. Arizona has a winner take all allocation, meaning whichever candidate receives the highest number of votes receives all 11 electoral votes.

On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, the Electors meet at their state capitol and cast their votes for both president and vice-president. The electoral votes for all states are then counted before a Joint Session of Congress in January, at which point the President is declared elected.

Why Do We Have an Electoral College?

The Founding Fathers debated whether Congress should pick the president or if the president should be elected by a popular vote of eligible citizens. The Electoral College was the resulting compromise. A constitutional amendment would be required to change the process of how the president is elected.

What happens now?

After the November 5th General Election voters from around the country have voted for the electors who will pick the next President and Vice President of the United States. This process begins with the electors of each state convening post election on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. Conflicts amongst electors must be resolved by December 11th, 2024, when the executive officer of Arizona, along with every other state, has to sign a Certificate of Ascertainment to appoint the electors chosen by voters in the general election.

On December 17th, 2024 the electors of each state will meet in-person at the state or federal district capitol to select the President and Vice President of the United States. Only electors who represent the candidate with the most popular votes on Election Day each gets to cast votes in the Electoral College election while Maine and Nebraska split votes by congressional districts. Afterwards, each state will transmit their endorsed, officialized vote count certificate to the current Vice President of the United States (who is acting as President of the Senate), state officials, the federal court who has jurisdiction over the state capitol area and the archivist. The vote certificate has to be received by December 25, 2024.

The new year's federal Congress will convene on January 3rd, 2025 and the electoral college vote count taking place on January 6th. The leadership will open the official vote counts to see if there is a majority winner with over 270 electoral votes. If indeed there are over 270 electoral votes for a candidate and no successful objections filed by Congress, the presidential election is hereby certified and completed. If no majority winner arises, the election is transmitted to Congress to decide. The House decides who is president while the Senate determines the vice president.

Official Government Resources

This is the official Government Publishing Office version of the rules governing the joint meeting of Congress on Jan. 6, 2025, incorporating the Electoral Count Act of 1887.

• 3 U.S. Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress.
• 3 U.S. Code § 16 - Same; seats for officers and Members of two Houses in joint meeting
• 3 U.S. Code § 17 - Same; limit of debate in each House
• 3 U.S. Code § 18 - Same; parliamentary procedure at joint meeting

In Focus: Electoral College Overview (2024). This Congressional Research Service In Focus report highlights key aspects and recent policy developments related to the Electoral College.