Who elects the president?

The Electoral College elects the president based upon the vote of a state. In an election, an individual votes for an elector who votes for the same candidate as the individual. The U.S. House of Representatives elects the president in the case of a tie.

A state's number of members in the Electoral College depends upon the number of congressional officials from the state, which changes with the population. The guidelines for the Electoral College are in the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article One. There have been only four instances in which the Electoral College did not deliver the same election outcome as the popular vote, as of 2014.