Clinton v Trump: the 2016 US presidential election

How the electoral college vote works

The candidate with a simple majority in most states will take that state’s share of 538 electoral college votes. The electoral college system is at its heart a proportional representation vote which gives each state a say in the presidential race depending on its population. Heavily populated states in the north-east, California, Texas and Florida dominate the electoral college vote – and while some have traditionally been won by a particular party, many so-called swing states like Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania will likely call the winner.