What is United States Electoral College?
[[File:ElectoralCollege2016.svg|thumb|upright=2|Map of the Electoral College for the [[United States presidential election, 2016|2016 presidential election]], showing the amount of votes from each [[U.S. state|state]] and [[federal district]]]] The '''United States Electoral College''' is a name used to describe the official 538<ref>This number is reached by adding the 435 Representatives, 100 Senators, and 3 electoral votes for the District of Columbia</ref> [[elector|presidential electors]] who come together every four years during the presidential election to give their official votes for [[President of the United States|President]] and [[Vice President of the United States]]. The number of electors each state has is determined by the number of representatives a state has, plus its two senators. No state can have fewer than three electors. There are 435 representatives in total and 100 senators. The [[The Amendments|23rd Amendment]] to the Constitution awarded Washington, D.C. three electors. Combined, there is a total of 538 electors. Electors usually vote for the winner of the [[popular vote]] in their state. In some states, they vote depending on the popular vote in each [[List of United States congressional districts|congressional district]]. The Constitution leaves states to decide how electors will vote. [[Faithless electors]] are electors that vote against the popular vote, although there is a [[fine]] for this in some states. The Electoral College was created as the Founding Fathers were afraid the popular vote would be easily swayed. Because congressional representatives is determined by population, electors are assigned based on representatives. More populous states have more electors. Because most states have a winner-take-all system, where the winner of the popular vote in a state gains all of the electors, several presidents have lost the popular vote and won the electoral vote. A candidate needs to win a majority of electors, or 270, to become the president-elect. The Electoral C