Question 49: Why is the Electoral College important?
Official answers (any one counts)
USCIS accepts any of these answers. If the question asks for more than one, give as many as it asks.
- It decides who is elected president.
- It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection.
Grandpa explains
People vote in each state, and that state's electors cast the final vote. 270 electoral votes wins, kiddo.
Careful: these are NOT the answer
These are the common mix-ups. The app uses them as traps so you practice.
- It chooses the members of Congress.
- It picks the Supreme Court justices.
- It collects taxes from every state.
Video lesson on this topic: The President
More questions on this topic
- 50What is one part of the judicial branch?
- 51What does the judicial branch do?
- 52What is the highest court in the United States? ★
- 53How many seats are on the Supreme Court?
- 54How many Supreme Court justices are usually needed to decide a case?
- 55How long do Supreme Court justices serve?
Official sources:
- USCIS · 128 Civics Questions and Answers (2025 version), M-1778 (09/25) ↗ · checked October 6, 2026
The plain explanation is ours; the official answers are USCIS's, word for word.