Electoral College

Electoral College A group of people chosen to elect a candidate to an office. Probably the oldest College is that which meets in Rome to elect a new pope, consisting of the cardinals of the Church. The idea was adapted by the framers of the American Constitution in 1787, each state appointing as many electors as it had members of Congress, these electors then meeting to choose the President of the USA. As states extended their franchise these electors came to be chosen by direct election. With the emergence of organized political parties, the holding of a national party convention to select presidential candidates developed. Candidates in each state are all now chosen beforehand by party associations and their vote is decided by their party's convention. Thus, for each state (except Maine since 1969), following a presidential election, the candidate who has won a majority of the popular vote in that state will gain all that state's electoral votes. In the event of a tied election the President is chosen by a vote in the House of Representatives.