What is the Electoral College, how many electors does Michigan have?

Michiganders cast ballots all over the state Tuesday, exercising their right to vote.

However, the race won't be determined by who has the most votes, but by the Electoral College, a process through which Americans elect their president indirectly through state electors.

What is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is how the president (and vice president) of the United States is elected. In the U.S., there are 538 electors who each get an electoral vote between all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To win the election, the president needs to secure 270 out of 538 electoral votes.

How are electors chosen?

Electors are determined by population, as determined by the census, equal to the number of senators and representatives in Congress.

Each state starts with three electoral votes. More are added based on population.

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More: Find all 2024 Michigan election results here

How many electoral votes does Michigan have?

Michigan has 15 electoral votes. The winner of the 2024 presidential race will need an additional 255 if they win Michigan.

Can there be a tie in the Electoral College?

It is possible for two candidates to get 269 votes each, but highly unlikely. If it does happen, there is a complicated process that follows.

First, the newly elected Congress taking office in January would gather to vote for the new president. Here, each state’s delegation would get one vote. For example, California’s 52 House of Representatives members would have one vote the same as Wyoming’s single member, according to USA.gov.

In the Senate, every senator would have a single vote with a simple majority needed to choose a winner.

Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.

Tennessean reporters Diana Leyva and Jordan Green contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How many electoral votes does Michigan have?