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 In the end, Bush beat Gore in one of the closest elections in American history, winning by just one electoral college vote and losing the popular vote. Margie Cullen, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2024 In 2020, Biden coasted into office by beating Trump 306-232 in the electoral college. Thomas Knapp, Orange County Register, 22 Feb. 2024 After Election Day If either candidate drops out between Election Day and Inauguration Day, what happens next depends on whether the electoral college has already met to attest to the election results. USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024 These states’ votes combined equal 205 electoral college votes, so if the number can be increased to 270 — well, then, mission accomplished. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2024 The electoral college system empowers a sliver of the U.S. population in battleground states. Marianne Levine, Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2023 The state’s four electoral college votes are only 0.7% of the whole kit and kaboodle. Eli Amdur, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 President Donald Trump speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as President, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 26 Nov. 2023 Election of presidents The Constitution created an unusual mechanism for electing the president - an electoral college. Dan Balz and Clara Ence Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'electoral college.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of electoral college was in 1677

Dictionary Entries Near electoral college

Cite this Entry

“Electoral college.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electoral%20college. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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.

More from Merriam-Webster on electoral college

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