What is and example of the electoral college?

The Electoral College is a mechanism established by the U.S. Constitution for electing the president and vice president. An example of the Electoral College in action occurred during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump won the presidency by securing 304 electoral votes, despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, who received about 2.9 million more votes nationwide. Each state is allocated a number of electoral votes based on its representation in Congress, which can lead to scenariOS where the candidate with fewer popular votes still wins the presidency through the electoral vote system.