When do electoral college cast their votes

The second part of the process happens during the general election. When the voters in each State cast votes for the Presidential candidate of their choice they are voting to select their State's electors. The potential electors' names may or may not appear on the ballot below the name of the Presidential candidates, depending on election procedures and ballot formats in each State.

The winning Presidential candidate's slate of potential electors are appointed as the State's electors—except in Nebraska and Maine, which have proportional distribution of the electors. In Nebraska and Maine, the State winner receives two electors and the winner of each congressional district who may be the same as the overall winner or a different candidate receives one elector.

This system permits Nebraska and Maine to award electors to more than one candidate. Electors do not vote twice for President. They are the only ones who actually vote for President, which they do at the meeting of the electors the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.

There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories—electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties. Supreme Court has held that the Constitution does not require that electors be completely free to act as they choose and therefore, political parties may extract pledges from electors to vote for the parties' nominees.

Some State laws provide that so-called "faithless electors" may be subject to fines or may be disqualified for casting an invalid vote and be replaced by a substitute elector. At the end of the count, the Vice President then announces the name of the next President. Since , 3 U. During the Joint Session, lawmakers may object to individual electoral votes or to state returns as a whole.

An objection must be declared in writing and signed by at least one Representative and one Senator. In the case of an objection, the Joint Session recesses and each chamber considers the objection separately for no more than two hours; each Member may speak for five minutes or less.

After each house votes on whether to accept the objection, the Joint Session reconvenes and both chambers disclose their decisions. If both chambers agree to the objection, the electoral votes in question are not counted. If either chamber opposes the objection, the votes are counted.

Originally, the Electoral College provided the Constitutional Convention with a compromise between two main proposals: the popular election of the President and the election of the President by Congress. There have been other attempts to change the system, particularly after cases in which a candidate wins the popular vote, but loses in the Electoral College. The closest Congress has come to amending the Electoral College since was during the 91st Congress — when the House passed H.

The resolution cleared the House to 70, but failed to pass the Senate. The election of the President goes to the House of Representatives. Each state delegation casts a single vote for one of the top three contenders from the initial election to determine a winner. Caucuses are private meetings run by political parties. In most, participants divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support. Undecided voters form their own group. Each group gives speeches supporting its candidate and tries to get others to join its group.

At the end, the number of voters in each group determines how many delegates each candidate has won. During a closed primary or caucus, only voters registered with that party can take part and vote. Learn which states have which types of primaries.

At stake in each primary or caucus is a certain number of delegates. These are individuals who represent their state at national party conventions. The parties have different numbers of delegates due to the rules involved in awarding them. Each party also has some unpledged delegates or superdelegates.

These delegates are not bound to a specific candidate heading into the national convention. When the primaries and caucuses are over, most political parties hold a national convention. This is when the winning candidates receive their nomination. For information about your state's presidential primaries or caucuses, contact your state election office or the political party of your choice.

Anyone who meets these requirements can declare their candidacy for president. That includes naming a principal campaign committee to raise and spend campaign funds. To become the presidential nominee, a candidate typically has to win a majority of delegates. This happens through additional rounds of voting.

Pledged, or bound delegates must support the candidate they were awarded to through the primary or caucus process. In the first round of voting, pledged delegates usually have to vote for the candidate they were awarded to at the start of the convention. Unpledged delegates don't. Superdelegates can't vote in the first round unless a candidate already has enough delegates through primaries and caucuses to get the nomination.

Superdelegates can vote in these later rounds. At the convention, the presidential nominee officially announces their selection of a vice presidential running mate.

Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They'll get you the answer or let you know where to find it. How to Become President of the United States. A Presidential candidate must be: A natural born citizen U. Step 2: National Conventions and General Election After the primaries and caucuses, each major party, Democrat and Republican, holds a national convention to select a Presidential nominee.

On election day, people in every state cast their vote. Step 3: The Electoral College When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors.