What is the difference between the popular vote and a delegate?

Answer 1

In accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution, electoral votes determine the President and Vice President of the United States. The U.S. electoral vote system is referred to as the U.S. Electoral College. The electors are elected by direct popular vote in each state and each candidate for elector swears in advance whom he will vote for. The electors from each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia then cast their electoral votes to elect the President and Vice President of the United States.

Answer 2

Delegate votes determine who is nominated for president. Electoral votes determine who wins the election for president.

The delegate votes that you hear talked about refer to the nominating process for the presidency. The nominations are officially made at the nomination convention with delegates from all the states and territories voting to make the choice. Before the convention many states hold primary elections or caucuses to determine in advance how certain delegates will vote and candidates are said to have won a certain number of delegates as the campaign progresses. The number of delegates from each state is determined by the political parties based roughly on the population of party members in that state.

The electoral college votes after the election in November. When the people vote for a president they are actually voting for electors who are tied to a particular candidates. Each elector gets one electoral vote and the number of electors from each state is the total number of senators and congressmen that state has. The winner must get a majority of the electoral votes.