 Article II Section I established the Electoral College  Each state choose electors according to a method the state legislatures set up and each state would have as many electors as it had senators and representatives in Congress.  At elections time, the electors would meet in their own states and cast votes for two presidential candidates, known as the electoral vote.

 No popular vote was cast for the early process.  Congress would count the votes and the person with the majority of the votes would be president, the next highest person would become vice president.  In the case of a tie or no one received a majority of the votes, the House of Representatives would pick the president and vice president.

 In 1800 Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ran for election and each received 73 votes and the House of Representatives had to choose the winner. Jefferson had the popular vote but Burr’s party, the Federalists, controlled the majority of the House of Representatives.  This Amendment was added to the Constitution due to the issues of political parties in the 1800 election.  It required that the electors cast separate ballots for president and vice president, and that if no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the House of Representatives would choose from the top three candidates with the most electoral votes. 

 The Electoral College runs much the same today.  On Election Day, a person votes for a political party, not the person running for office. The total votes of each state are tallied, and the party with more votes in the state has more Presidential Electors to meet and choose the president. Example, last election more people voted for the Democrats in New York, thus there were more Democratic Presidential Electors that meet 41 days later to choose the president than Republican Presidential Electors.

 These winning parties from each state meet 41 days after Election Day to choose the president or vice president. These officials are determined by the way the states voted. Example, in the last election, John Kerry’s party, the Democrats, won the state of New York, thus his party had more representation on the formal Electoral College for the state. Most of the time, these officials on the Electoral College will cast their vote for the person running in their party.  Occasionally, a person will choose to not pick the person in his/her party in a form of protest. These people are also known as “faithless Electors.” Once all the votes are counted, their tallies are passed on to congress.

 -January 6 th, Congress counts all the votes and the person with the majority, currently 270 out of a possible 538 votes, wins the election.  -January 20 th, the candidate who received the most electoral votes is sworn in as the president of the United States.