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Every four years, Americans who are 18 or older have a big responsibility.

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Our votes decide who becomes the President of the United States.

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Unfortunately, the U.S. election system isn't that simple.

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This is electing a U.S. President in plain English.

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It's easy to imagine every U.S. citizen's vote being counted together on Election Day,

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but this is not the case.

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U.S. elections are not decided by the total or popular vote, but individual states.

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Let me explain.

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It starts with your vote.

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On Election Day, you'll vote for President and their Vice President.

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You get one choice.

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Then, all the votes in your state are counted.

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The candidate with the most statewide votes becomes the candidate your state supports for President.

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This happens across the country until each state has selected their candidate.

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We end up with most of the 50 states and the District of Columbia voting to support one candidate each.

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But there's a problem.

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We can't elect a President by just counting up the choices of these states.

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U.S. states are different.

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Consider this.

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California has about 36 million people.

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Kansas has less than 3 million.

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We need a way for California's choice to have more influence on the election because the state has more people.

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The question becomes, how do we make sure each state has the right amount of influence on the election?

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Well, we need a way to account for the population of each state.

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As an example, let's consider my home state of North Carolina.

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Like every state, it is divided up into congressional districts that are based on population.

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North Carolina has 13 districts, California has 53, and Kansas has 4.

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When it comes to a state's influence on the election, the number of districts matters most.

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More population equals more districts equals more influence.

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The influence a state has in the election is measured by the number of electors.

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This number comes from the number of districts in a state plus the number of U.S. Senators, which is always 2.

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North Carolina has 15 electors, while California has 55.

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When a candidate wins the voting in a state, they win that state's number of electors.

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That's why big, populous states can be so important to candidates.

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Their electors add up quickly, and the number of electors is what really matters.

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Here's why.

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If you add up the electors of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, there are 538 in total.

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The candidate's goal on Election Day is to win the majority of 538, or 270 electors.

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Once a candidate wins enough states to reach the 270 majority, they have won the election and become the President-Elect.

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Yay!

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So, let's recap.

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Your vote helps your state choose a single candidate.

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That candidate receives all the electors from your state.

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The candidate who can win enough states to reach 270 total electors wins the national election and becomes the President-Elect.

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Then, on the following January 20th, the President-Elect is sworn in as the next President of the United States.

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And it all starts with your vote.

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Make it count.

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I'm Lee LeFever, and this has been Electing a U.S. President in Plain English on the Common Craft Show.

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One more thing.

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The Common Craft Store now offers downloadable versions of our videos for use in the workplace.

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Find them at commoncraft.com slash store.