Question

Explain how the popular and electoral college votes decide the presidency.

Answer 1

Electoral college votes decide the presidency by majority vote. The population vote helps decide what the college votes will be in each state.

Answer 2

Answer:

The US presidential election is conducted through 51 separate elections in each state and the District of Columbia. Each state has a number of electors that correspond to its representation in Congress. In addition, Washington has D.C. three voters (since Washington D.C. has no representation in Congress). In 48 states, the winner of the referendum gets all the voters from this state. In Maine and Nebraska, the electoral votes are distributed according to congressional districts.

The states that have the most voters are California with 55, Texas with 38 and New York and Florida with 29 each.  

The electors form the Electoral College, which, however, does not meet, but whose electors cast their votes in their respective capitals. Some, but not all, states require the electorate to vote on the presidential candidate the voters have appointed, and there have been a number of times that a small number have cast such "dissenting" votes.