Electoral College
or e·lec·tor·al col·lege
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.
a group of individuals whose function is to elect one or more leaders of government, as in Estonia, Nepal, and some other countries.
Origin of Electoral College
1Words Nearby Electoral College
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Electoral College in a sentence
Since 2000, Republicans have won the popular vote in a presidential election once, but the Electoral College has delivered them two additional victories.
Out of four candidates, Jackson got the most votes in the Electoral College, but he didn’t get a majority.
Not all presidents’ dance skills are created equal | Bonnie Berkowitz, Joanne Lee | January 21, 2021 | Washington PostRehnquist — joined by only two other justices — said that the Constitution gives the state legislature sole authority over elections and over the way that electors are chosen for the Electoral College.
Sen. Hawley has been condemned. His bad legal arguments should be stamped out, too. | Daniel Epps, Alan Trammell | January 20, 2021 | Washington PostWhen the Electoral College voted, Vice President John Adams was the narrow victor, and his rival Jefferson became his veep.
At the nation’s first presidential transfer of power, George Washington was ‘radiant’ | Gillian Brockell | January 19, 2021 | Washington PostBoth senators voted against certifying the Electoral College results.
Campaign finance system rocked as firms pause or halt contributions after election results challenged | Todd Frankel, Jeff Stein, Tony Romm | January 11, 2021 | Washington Post
They need Florida, arguably, at least in Electoral College terms.
Sidebar: the Electoral College is the balk rule of government.
Nobody is born knowing how a bill becomes a law or what the Electoral College is.
Lynne explained that first came the Electoral College, with each state getting two votes for president.
Dick and Lynne Cheney Play the Founding Fathers for Laughs | Eleanor Clift | May 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe result would be to effectively nullify the Electoral College without a constitutional amendment.
A smaller population than yours is represented not only in Congress, but in the Electoral College.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 9 (of 12) | Robert G. IngersollHe was a member of the Electoral College in 1860 and in 1864.
John Greenleaf Whittier | W. Sloane KennedyAnd your popular majority as well as your clear majority in the Electoral College is a great personal triumph for you.
The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume II | Burton J. HendrickAgain, in 1876, Hayes was declared elected President by a majority of one vote in the Electoral College.
The Facts of Reconstruction | John R. LynchI won by a popular majority of about two million and a half, and in the Electoral College carried 330 votes against 136.
Theodore Roosevelt | Theodore Roosevelt
British Dictionary definitions for electoral college
(often capitals) US a body of electors chosen by the voters who formally elect the president and vice president
any body of electors with similar functions
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Electoral College
[ (i-lek-tuhr-uhl) ]
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 for Electoral College
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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