The outcome of the U.S. presidential election is determined through a system called the Electoral College.
What is the Electoral College and How Does It Work?
Each of the 50 states, along with Washington D.C., is assigned a certain number of Electoral College votes, totaling 538 votes. States with larger populations have more electoral votes, while smaller states have fewer.
To win the election, a candidate needs to secure at least 270 Electoral College votes (which is 50% plus one of the total votes).
In every state, except for Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes wins all of the state’s Electoral College votes.
These Electoral College votes are cast by electors in each state, who vote directly for the president based on the results of the popular vote in their respective states. After the election, usually in early January, Congress holds a joint session to count and certify the Electoral College votes.
How Do People Vote in the U.S. Election?
Elections in the U.S. are managed by individual states, and voters can cast their ballots in person on Election Day or by mail. Essentially, the presidential election consists of 51 separate elections (one for each state and Washington D.C.).
Because of the Electoral College system, it’s possible for a candidate to win the presidency without securing the most votes nationwide. This occurred in 2016 when Donald Trump won the Electoral College, even though Hillary Clinton received more popular votes across the country.
In some races, a ranked-choice voting system is used, where voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on voters’ second choices. The Guardian highlights these elections and shows how redistributed votes affect the final outcome.
How Are the Votes Counted?
The vote counting process is thorough and includes several stages to ensure accuracy and security, taking place before, during, and after Election Day.
Once polls close, local election precincts begin tallying ballots cast in person, along with verified absentee and mail-in ballots. The procedures for verifying and counting ballots vary by state but generally involve checking mail-in voter signatures and ensuring the ballots are properly filled out. Provisional ballots, used when there are questions about a voter’s eligibility, are set aside for later review.
Once ballots are verified, they are counted — either digitally or manually, depending on the state. These counts are then sent to county election offices for aggregation and further verification.
Thousands of local election officials, either appointed or elected, oversee the process. Both partisan and nonpartisan observers can monitor the counting. After county-level results are compiled and verified, state election authorities certify the final results.
Election results are often initially reported by the media — such as the Associated Press (AP) — while the official results can take days or even weeks to finalize, due to the time required to verify absentee, mail-in, and provisional ballots. In some states, mail-in ballots can be counted after Election Day, and recounts in tight races may also delay final results.
How Are the Results Reported?
Election results are primarily reported by the Associated Press (AP). AP declares a winner in a state when they determine that the trailing candidate has no possible path to victory, which can happen even before all votes are counted.
Throughout election night and in the following days, the AP updates vote estimates as more information about voter turnout becomes available.