The Electoral College was written into federal law in 1845 as a compromise on the election of

The Electoral College was written into federal law in 1845 as a compromise on the election of president and vice president between those who wanted Congress to decide and those who wanted it done by popular vote of the people. Rather than vote directly for president, electors are chosen to represent the voters in their states in the Electoral College.

The electors meet on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December after a presidential election. Congress then meets on Jan. 8 to count the electoral votes and declare the winner.

Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. House members and its two U.S. senators. Also, the District of Columbia receives three electoral votes. Overall, there are 538 members of the Electoral College. Ohio has 20 members.

The political parties [and independent candidates, if there are any] in each state certify to the state’s chief election official a list of individuals pledged to their candidates for president and vice president before the November general election.

Usually, the major political parties select these individuals at their state party convention or through appointment by state party leaders. Third parties and independent candidates typically designate their electors.

Members of Congress and employees of the federal government are prohibited from serving as an elector.

In Ohio, Democrats from each of the state’s 18 congressional districts met in Columbus during its convention this past summer to elect the members of the Electoral College.

Whichever presidential ticket gets the most popular votes in a state wins all the electoral votes of that state. The two exceptions to this are Maine and Nebraska, where two electors are chosen by the statewide popular vote and the remainder by the popular vote in each congressional district.

Ohio law requires presidential electors to vote for the candidates of the political party that certified them to the secretary of state. But there is no U.S. constitutional provision or federal law requiring electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their states.

No elector has ever been prosecuted for failing to vote as pledged. During the Electoral College’s history, more than 99 percent of the electors have voted as pledged.

Sources: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s Office of the Federal Register, and the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office