America 101: Why the Electoral College?

When Hillary Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes than Donald Trump in 2016, many Americans wondered how on earth Trump managed to get into the Oval Office. Of course, they knew how: Trump received 304 Electoral College votes, a solid 34 more than is needed to win the presidency. But not a lot of people understand why the Electoral College exists – or how it works. And though a sizeable majority of Americans say they’d just like to get rid of it, the Electoral College was integral to the 1787 compromise that was the Constitution. Put simply, without the Electoral College, we probably wouldn’t have a United States.