electoral college

noun

variants or Electoral College

plural electoral colleges or Electoral Colleges

: a body of electors

Voting has now closed in the parliamentary party vote, which means all three electoral colleges have finished voting.

—Hugh Linehan and Harry McGee

He chairs the electoral college of the Culinary Institute of America's Vintners Hall of Fame …

—Cy Musiker

especially, usually Electoral College : one that elects the president and vice president of the U.S.

If the Electoral College did end up tied, the Constitution dictates that it's the incoming Congress who breaks the stalemate, with the House of Representatives determining the president—but instead of voting as 435 individual members, each state votes as a single bloc.

—Trevor Bach

In the electoral college, Roosevelt buried Wilkie 449 to 82.

—Mary Beth Norton et al.

Examples of electoral college in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

National and statewide United States Latest polling results for the electoral college and Presidential race results by county. —Los Angeles Times Data and Graphics Department, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024

Throughout the election season, Republicans and Democrats viewed Arizona's 11 electoral college votes as up for grabs, which meant both parties did aggressive campaigning throughout the state and both Trump and Harris visited on multiple occasions. —Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024

Bush would be certified as the winner of Florida by a margin of 537 votes — razor-thin but enough to secure the prize of 25 electoral college votes needed to claim ultimate victory. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024

How many electoral college votes do the seven battleground states have? —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

electoral college

noun

: a body of electors

especially : one that elects the president and vice president of the U.S.

Legal Definition

electoral college

noun

elec·​tor·​al college

often capitalized E&C

: a body of electors

specifically : the body of electors chosen from each state to elect the president and vice president of the U.S.

Note: Under Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, each state chooses electors in the same number that the state has senators and representatives. In all the states except Maine and Nebraska, the candidate that wins a plurality of the popular votes wins all of the state's electoral votes.