The electoral process in the USA is very different from that in Portugal for choosing a President. It is an indirect election: when voters go to the polls, they are actually voting for a group of special voters (the big voters), previously selected by each party. Weeks after election day, the big voters in each state gather and, if everything goes smoothly, they are expected to confirm the victory of the candidate who received the most votes at the polls in each state. The 538 major voters form the Electoral College – and each state has a number of major voters equal to the number of its elected representatives in the House of Representatives plus two senators.
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