Citizens of the United States are to hit the voting booths this coming November to decide between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as our new president. It all comes down to each and every one of those votes to determine the future of this country – or so you thought. The U.S doesn't use a one man one vote type of system to dictate the next president, but uses one called the Electoral College, in which the people are really voting for presidential electors. This method dates back to 1787 during the Constitutional Convention. The Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters constructed the process considering all aspects of politics, in which the delegates obliged with only minor changes. As stated in the U.S. Constitution – Article II, section 1 – the electors are chosen by the state. The number of electors is determined by the combination of the senators, two per state, and the delegates in the House of Representatives. The original system had the electors then meet at their …show more content…
On the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, Americans go out to vote for a Presidential candidate. The candidate with the most votes in a particular state will be granted all of that state's electoral votes. Each state is given a certain amount of votes – one per senator and delegate in the House of Representative, which is determined by the population of the state. For example, California has fifty-five electoral votes, while Oklahoma has seven. It's a “winner-takes-all” system except in Maine and Nebraska. These two states run their elections by congressional districts. They are able to split up their votes among the two candidates. Once the state-wide elections are done, the electors then meet at the state capitol on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to vote on the President and Vice President. The candidate that receives 290 electoral votes becomes the next President of the