If you haven’t been informed about the American electoral system and want to take a crash course in American civics, here’s what you need to know.

Unlike the Canadian parliamentary system, when Americans go to the polls on November 5, they will vote directly for president, voting for either Harris or Trump – or a third-party candidate.

There are 538 total votes in the Electoral College, with candidates needing 270 votes or more to win the presidency.

All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, have electoral college votes based on their representation in Congress, meaning that votes are generally proportional to a state’s population. For example, California – the most populous state in the United States – has 54 electoral votes while smaller states like Vermont have three.

Most states implement a winner-take-all system: the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets all the electoral college votes. That’s why swing states can be so impactful: Getting a state’s voters to swing toward one candidate can mean a boon in electoral college votes. In 2020, Joe Biden flipped Arizona by just over 10,000 votes, winning the popular vote by just a 0.3% margin, but garnering all of the state’s 11 electoral votes.

There are only two exceptions: Maine and Nebraska split their Electoral College votes, with two going to the winner of the state’s popular vote and one to the winner of each congressional district’s popular vote.

Each political party appoints a slate of electors for each state, often party loyalists and loyal party members. When voters go to the polls, they are voting for a presidential candidate, but their vote is actually used to choose which slate of electors will vote. For example, if a Democratic candidate wins the popular vote in New York, then the slate of Democratic electors will vote for the president.

Most of the time, voters are required to vote for their party’s candidate: in 32 states, plus the District of Columbia, there are laws to this effect. In other states, electors can theoretically vote for whoever they want, but these “faithless” electors could be fined or prosecuted. This is why parties generally take care to nominate voters who are loyal to the party.

In 2016, there were seven faithless electors, the most since 1972, but they did not influence the outcome of the election.

It is unlikely – but possible – that there will be a tie in the Electoral College, with several scenarios ending in a 269-269 split.

If that happens, according to the constitution, the House of Representatives chooses the president, with each state having one vote. The Senate would choose the vice president, with each senator having their own vote.

Because of the way the Electoral College is set up, with votes taking all, it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote but win enough Electoral College votes to win the White House.

That’s what happened to Trump in 2016, when he won the Electoral College by 34 votes but lost the popular vote by nearly 2.8 million.

Most states, due to their voting trends and the implementation of the Electoral College, are assumed to already be safely decided for Trump or Harris, before voting even begins. This is why campaigns and polls focus on key “swing states” or “battleground states” that are up for grabs. These are often states narrowly won in previous elections.

This year, the major swing states and their electoral vote counts are: Arizona (11 votes), Georgia (16 votes), Michigan (15 votes), Nevada (6 votes), North Carolina (16 votes), Pennsylvania (19 votes). votes) and Wisconsin (10 votes).

Biden won in 2020 thanks to victories in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – if Trump had won Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin, it would have resulted in a 269 tie 269.

All seats are vacant for members of the House of Representatives, and 34 Senate seats are up for grabs. Representatives serve two-year terms, while senators serve six-year terms.

Even though the president holds all executive power in government, to pass laws, parties must control both the House and Senate, or compromise with the majority party. Currently, Democrats occupy the Senate while Republicans occupy the House, which has led to threats of a government shutdown when both parties have refused to budge on key issues.

Several prominent senators are either re-elected or retiring: former Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren are up for re-election. Former Republican candidates Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney will also see their seats up for grabs. Romney is retiring, while Cruz is running again for another term.

Most U.S. citizens over the age of 18, including those living abroad, are eligible to vote, with some exceptions.

Some people who have previously been convicted of a crime or imprisoned cannot vote, and the same goes for U.S. residents of U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Thirty-five states, mostly run by Republicans, have voter photo ID requirements, such as in Ohio, where an unexpired photo ID is required for someone to vote. Supporters of voter ID laws say they create additional burdens for minority groups and point to relatively low in-person voter fraud.

Some states with voter ID laws also allow “provisional ballots,” where people can still vote, but most then provide an ID to an election official within a certain time frame.

Many voters, even before in-person polls open, have already cast early ballots (or “mail-in ballots”), which allows Americans to vote before Election Day, whether by mail or in person in an electoral center.

Mail voting in some states began as early as mid-September, and more than half of states had begun some type of voting by October 1.

There have also been many controversies, even regarding in-person voting.

Some Republicans, inspired by election lies claiming that widespread fraud cost Trump’s re-election in 2020pushed for ballots to be counted by hand and to ban electronic tabulators used to scan ballots and record votes, despite no evidence of widespread fraud or major irregularities.

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.

Lawmakers can object to a state’s results during certification by Congress, as several Republicans did after the 2020 election. 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 In 2020 and his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, Trump had pressured Vice President Mike Pence to try to object to the results – something the vice president has no legal authority to do so. Congress then 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.

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

With files from the Associated Press