Nov. 5, 2024, is Election Day. People 18 and older will vote for president and vice president of the United States, along with other offices. The candidates from each party run as a team. They are on the same ticket.

Our country uses the Electoral College system of voting for president. Each state is allotted a certain number of votes, called electoral votes.

The votes cast by individuals are called the popular vote. This week, The Mini Page learns more about how this system works.

The Electoral College

Voting is a citizen’s most important duty. But there is another step after individuals vote. It is called the Electoral College.

This is not a college with a campus and students. Another meaning for “college” is a group that meets and has special duties.

The Electoral College has the duty to elect the president of the United States. Its members vote based on how the people in each state voted.

Electoral votes

Each state gets a number of electoral votes equal to the number of members it has in the U.S. Congress. For example:

North Carolina has 14 representatives and two senators, so it gets 16 electoral votes.

The political parties in each state nominate a set of electors equal to the state’s number of members of Congress. So North Carolina has 16 Republican and 16 Democratic electors.

If the popular vote goes for the Republican candidate in that state, the Republican electors cast their votes for him or her.

The electoral votes total 538. This number is based on the total number of members of Congress.

Voting day

On the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, voters go to the polls. The winning ticket in each state gets all of that state’s electoral votes (except in Maine and Nebraska, where the electoral vote may be split between the candidates).

We usually know who the winner is on election night by counting the electoral votes. However, there are other steps to make it official.

Presenting the votes

In December, the winning electors, or special voters from each state, meet in their state capitals and cast their votes. These electoral votes are put into sealed envelopes and sent to the president of the U.S. Senate.

On Jan. 6, he or she opens the envelopes. The results are read before a meeting of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Mini Fact:

About 66% of people who were eligible to vote in 2020 went to the polls.