What is the Electoral College?

(WAVY) — What is the Electoral College? It’s a question that’s been on the minds of voters since Tuesday’s election results.

On Wednesday, Republican nominee Donald Trump was elected president by securing 279 electoral votes. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.

It’s the second time in less than 20 years a presidential candidate has won the popular vote, but lost the election because of the Electoral College.

Old Dominion University Assistant Professor of Political Science and Geography Joshua Zingher says the Founding Fathers of America created the system to help represent minority voters.

“Opposed to determining the winner of the presidential election by majority votes, who gets the most voters nationwide, we have 50 state level elections where the winner takes all,” Zingher said.

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