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How does the electoral college work?
All 50 US states and Washington DC have a set number of "electors" in the electoral college – roughly proportionate to the size of each state.
California, the largest state, has 55 electoral votes, while sparsely-populated Wyoming and tiny Washington DC only get only three each.
There are 538 electors and to win a majority and become president either candidate needs to accumulate 270 electors – half the total plus one.
Americans technically vote for electors, not the candidates themselves. The electors are state officials or senior party figures, but they are not usually named on the ballot.
The number of electors each state gets is also equal to the number of seats it has in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
All but two states – Maine and Nebraska – use a winner-takes-all system, so if you win the most votes in a state you take its entire haul of electoral college votes.
The key for either party to win the presidential election is to target specific battleground states. There are several swing states, that over recent elections have gone both ways. They hold the key to winning the election.
What are swing states?
The major swing states in 2016 are Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Other important states include Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Colorado, and North Carolina.
Are voters just casting ballots for the presidential election?
No. As well as voting for president, Americans are also electing all 435 members of Congress's lower house, the House of Representatives, and one-third of the Senate. Plus, they are voting for a medley of local and state officials.
History of the system
When America's founding fathers created the electoral college system in 1787, there was no way a presidential candidate could mount a national campaign – and there was little in the way of national identity.
Election of the president by Congress was rejected as it was thought to be too divisive. Likewise, electing a president by state legislatures was discounted as it could have eroded federal authority.
Electing the president by direct popular vote was also vetoed over fears that people would vote for their favourite local candidate and no president would emerge with a popular majority sufficient to govern the whole country.
The system of electors, based loosely on the Roman Catholic College of Cardinals selecting the Pope, was chosen with the theory that the most knowledgeable and informed individuals from each state would select a president on merit, disregarding state loyalties.
The electoral college system does usually reflect the popular vote – in the 52 elections since 1804, 48 of the winners have also achieved the popular mandate.
Why is the election always the second Tuesday in November?
The election is in November because America was a predominantly agrarian society and November was the quietest period for rural workers.
It is always traditionally on a Tuesday to allow people living in rural areas time to travel to towns and cities to vote, removing the need to travel on a Sunday.
It is always the first Tuesday after the first Monday to avoid the election falling on November 1st. This was to avoid clashing with All Saints Day and the day when businessmen traditionally did their accounting from the previous month.
What happened on election day?
On the morning of November 8, polling booths opened in all 50 states and in Washington DC.
When voting finished in the evening we got our first glimpse of the exit polls, surveys carried out throughout the day to give an idea of who would win.
When will the winner take power?
On the Monday following the second Wednesday in December the electors of each state meet to formally cast their votes.
The results are then sent to the Senate and read out on Jan 6.
According to law, Barack Obama is president until noon on Jan 20, 2017 – Inauguration Day – when the new president, either Mrs Clinton or Mr Trump, takes over and moves into the White House.
Extract from The Telegraph
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