When people vote for President of the United States, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors. Each state (except Maine and Nebraska) gets a number of electoral votes equal to its representation in Congress, and the candidate that receives the most electoral votes becomes the President of the United States. The Electoral College is a complicated process and many questions arise regarding how it works.
The election begins when candidates from the two major political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, begin their campaign trails. They raise money and support, hold televised debates and travel across the country to meet voters and supporters.
Early in the 2024 race, Trump was the clear favorite in several small states that hold their primary and caucuses first in January, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. When the larger states, such as California and New York, held their primaries and caucuses later on Super Tuesday in June, Harris had a more significant advantage over Trump.
Despite these trends, polls taken close to election day indicated that Trump and Harris were virtually tied in the popular vote nationwide and in swing states. However, the outcome was a shock to many observers and marked one of the most dramatic comebacks in U.S. political history.
In the end, a few dozen electors voted for someone other than the candidate they had pledged to support. This phenomenon is known as a faithless elector.