Ask Real Simple: What is the Electoral College? Real Simple
answers your questions. Q. Refresh my memory: What is the
electoral college again? A. They're the people who really elect
the president. On November 6, you won't actually be casting a
vote for the candidate of your choice. You'll be voting for a
group of electors who were nominated by the candidate's
political party in your state; they'll vote for the president on
December 17. In most states, plus the District of Columbia,
electors are technically required to follow their states'
popular vote; but in others they are not bound by law. So in
those states, even if the majority of voters choose Obama, an
elector could choose Romney or abstain. This "faithless
electing" happened in 2004—but it is extremely rare and has
never decided the outcome of an election. The electoral college
dates back to 1787, when Constitutional Convention delegates
decided that the president should be elected by a committee of
informed individuals, not by popular vote. In the da