WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 thanks to the Electoral College. George W. Bush also did it in 2000. Even though neither got the popular vote.

The Electoral College is the unique American system for electing presidents. It’s different from the popular vote and has an outsized impact on how candidates run and win campaigns. Trump and Bush, both Republicans, lost the popular vote in those presidential elections but won the electoral college to claim the White House.

Some Democrats say the system favors Republicans and would prefer that the United States elect its presidents by a simple majority. But the country’s creators established the system in the Constitution, and it would take a constitutional amendment to change it.

An overview of the Electoral College and how it works:

What is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is a 538-member body that elects a president. The framers of the Constitution established it to give more power to the states and as a compromise to avoid having Congress decide who wins.

Electors in each state vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in that state. The runner-up gets nothing, except in Nebraska and Maine, where electors’ votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results.

To win the presidency, a candidate must obtain 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 possible votes. Trump crossed this threshold early Wednesday with a victory in Wisconsin.

How is this different from the popular vote?

Under the electoral college system, more weight is given to a single vote in a small state than to that of a person in a large state, sometimes leading to results that are at odds with the popular vote .

It also affects how candidates campaign. Because the outcome is almost certain in both solidly Republican and solidly Democratic states, candidates tend to focus most of their efforts on a handful of swing states that split their votes in recent elections.

How many electoral votes does each state have?

Voters are allocated based on the number of representatives a state has in the House of Representatives, plus its two senators. The District of Columbia gets three, even though the congressional seat has no congressional voting rights.

California Matters Most electoral votes with 54, followed by Texas with 40 and Florida with 30. Pennsylvania with 19 electoral votes is the biggest prize of the presidential battlegrounds, followed by Georgia and North Carolina with 16 each.

Who are the voters?

This varies by state, but electors are often chosen by state parties. Members of Congress cannot be voters.

How and when are votes counted?

After state election officials certify their elections, electors come together in their individual states – never as one body – to certify the election. This year it will take place on December 17.

If both candidates receive an equal number of votes, the election goes to the House, where each state’s congressional delegation gets one vote. This only happened twice, in 1801 and 1825.

Once a state’s electors have certified their vote, they send a certificate to Congress. Congress then officially counts and certifies the vote in a special session on January 6. The vice president presides over the opening and verification of the envelopes of each state.

Can lawmakers object?

Lawmakers can object to a state’s results during certification by Congress, as several Republicans did after the 2020 elections. On January 6, 2021, the House and Senate both voted to reject the results. GOP objections to Arizona and Pennsylvania results.

After Trump tried to undo his defeat After Democrat Joe Biden and Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, Congress updated the Electoral Count Act of the 1800s to make it harder to object and more clearly define the ceremonial role of the vice president, among other changes. Trump had pressured Vice President Mike Pence to try to object to the results — something the vice president has no legal authority to do.

Once Congress certifies the vote, the new or outgoing president will be inaugurated on January 20 on the steps of the Capitol.

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Learn more about how US elections work at Explaining the 2024 electionan Associated Press series aimed at helping make sense of American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to improve its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. Learn more about AP’s Democratic Initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press