Electoral College

or e·lec·tor·al col·lege

[ ih-lek-ter-uhl kol-ij, ee-lek-tawr-uhl ]

noun

1. none the Electoral College or the electoral college, (in the United States) a group of individuals formed anew for each general election with the express function of electing the president and vice president: made up of a proportional number of members from each state, chosen by each state’s voters from the respective slates selected by that state’s political parties and usually expected to cast their vote in favor of the candidate who won the majority in their state or district.
2. a group of individuals whose function is to elect one or more leaders of government, as in Estonia, Nepal, and some other countries.

electoral college

noun

1. often capitals a body of electors chosen by the voters who formally elect the president and vice president
2. any body of electors with similar functions

Electoral College

1. The presidential electors who meet after the citizens vote for president and cast ballots for the president and vice president. Each state is granted the same number of electors as it has senators ( see United States Senate ) and representatives combined. These electors, rather than the public, actually elect the president and the vice president. The Founding Fathers assumed that electors would exercise discretion and not necessarily be bound by the popular vote, but the rise of political parties undermined this assumption. Electors are now pledged in advance to vote for the candidate of their party, and nearly always do so. Thus, the vote of the Electoral College is largely a formality.

Notes

There have been several attempts to abolish the Electoral College. In the 2000 presidential election, the candidate with the plurality of popular votes lost the electoral vote, a situation that also occurred in the 1876 and 1888 elections.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Electoral College¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Harris lost both the electoral college and popular vote outright, and that is unlikely to change as the vote tallies finalize.

From Salon

However, these statements were clearly an allusion to the former president’s refusal to accept the 2020 election outcome and the ensuing insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress worked to certify the electoral college vote.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump gathered the 270 electoral college votes needed to win after capturing three battleground states from the Democrats: Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, shown in red stripes.

From BBC

Trump, who won the electoral college in 2016 but not a majority of votes, was also on track to win the popular vote.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump's victory was confirmed on Wednesday morning after the Republican candidate picked up more than the 270 electoral college votes he needed to win the US presidency.

From BBC