Popular Vote
When most people think of the election process they think that the Electoral College is the sole source that elects the president and our individual votes will not make a difference. Although, this is a common misconception because it turns out that the popular vote is the determining factor when it comes to which candidate gets the state's electoral votes. The popular vote, by definition, is the sum of the votes casted by eligible voters. In the United States, 48 of the 50 states give all of their electoral votes to the candidate that wins the popular vote. The two states that could potentially split the amount of electoral votes they give to each candidate are Maine and Nebraska. While this it is an option for these two states to distribute their votes amongst the candidates it is an uncommon occurrence and the popular vote typically will determine the winner of the election. There have only been four elections in the history of the United States where the candidate that won the popular vote did not win the electoral vote. Therefore, one must not assume that since the popular vote is not the vote that directly elects the president of our country. The popular vote does in fact play a major role in the process of electing a president indirectly.