A candidate normally needs a majority of the appointed electoral votes to win. If no presidential candidate has a majority, the House chooses the president from the leading candidates, with each state delegation casting one vote. The Senate chooses the vice president under a separate rule. The Twelfth Amendment requires electors to cast distinct votes for president and vice president, which corrected a serious flaw in the original system.

On a CLEP question, separate the constitutional machinery from state allocation rules. The Constitution creates electors and sets the basic counting process. State law usually decides how the statewide popular vote translates into a slate of electors. This is why the national popular-vote total can be politically important without being the legal tally that elects the president.

Video lesson: Election Basics: Crash Course Government and Politics #36