The document explains how the US electoral college system works to elect the President. Each state is allocated electoral votes equal to its number of Senators plus Representatives. A candidate must win 270 of the 538 total electoral votes to become President. While some feel their individual votes don't matter, candidates still need to win both large and small states to gain enough electoral votes.

1. The Electoral College With Santa Claus And other things

2. WHAT IS IT???????? It is the system that is used to elect the President every four years. It can be a little difficult to understand so let’s take it one step at a time.

3. How does it work? Each state is given a certain number of “electoral” votes. This number is based on each states number of Senators + Representatives.

4. Who decides how many Senators and Representatives each state has? The Constitution does!

5. The Constitution says: Each state, regardless of size, will have 2 Senators. Each states number of Representatives in the House of Representatives will be based on each states population. The number of electoral votes is equal to the number of Senators plus the number of Representatives.

6. Example Time- Kansas has 2 Senators Kansas has 4 Representatives in the House. So 4+2=6 electoral college votes for Kansas.

7. Example Time- continued California has 2 Senators (like every other state) but…… Since California is much more populated than Kansas they have many more Representatives in the House. They have 53 reps. So California has 55 electoral votes.

8. “ The Electoral College enrages me, it seems as though my vote doesn’t even count. I am like a volcano of liquid hot magma!”

9. So if my vote doesn’t even count, why vote then? Maybe I’ll just stay home and eat a sandwich. Your vote counts- Each state conducts it’s own popular vote for president. The winner of each states popular vote gets that states electoral college votes. The winner of the majority of the electoral college votes wins the presidency.

10. Why should people from small states even vote? Even though it may seem as though the small states don’t matter, they do. A candidate who wins the larger states still has to win some small states in order to get the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency.

11. “ Now that I understand better, the electoral college makes me happy, almost as happy as my small billed hat and flannel shirt. But how many electoral college votes does someone need in order to win?” There are a total of 538 electoral college votes. A candidate needs 270 to win, it is a simple majority.

12. Review!!!!!!! A candidate must win the electoral college vote in order to become president. Each state has a set number of electoral votes to cast for president that is based on it’s number of Senators and Representatives.

13. Review continued!!!!!! Each state conducts it’s own popular vote and the winner of that election gets that states electoral votes. There are 538 possible electoral college votes, a candidate must win 270 (majority) to win the presidency. That lady(?) has a very vivid imagination when angered.