Popular votes are important for a candidate to win, but what truly matters is how many electoral votes the candidate gets.

As one of the most confusing and disliked systems in the United States, the electoral college plays a big role in the outcome of the Presidential election as the candidate needs 270 to win.

The National Conference of State Legislatures, states “The Electoral College consists of a total of 538 members, one for each U.S senator and representative, and three additional electors representing the District of Columbia.” Each state has a different number of members.

A good example would be the 2016 Election in which Clinton won the popular vote, but Trump won the presidency. While Clinton won the popularity, she did not win certain key states such as Texas or Florida who have a weigh of 38 and 29.

Nevertheless, 48 states and the District of Columbia are winners take all states meaning if Candidate A wins the popular vote in that state then Candidate A will get all of that state’s vote.

The only two states that do not do that system are Maine and Nebraska which the National Conference of State Legislatures, explains “one electoral vote is awarded to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in each congressional district, and the remaining two electoral votes are awarded to the candidates receiving the most votes statewide.”

The Electoral College is an odd system, yet it is one of the most important steps to winning in an Election, so if a candidate gets the right states regardless of popular it can play a significant in their possible victory.