First, each party nominates a candidate. That is done through a series of elections in each state (the primary elections). Super Tuesday is a day in March in which many states have their primary elections on the same day. At those primary elections, voters choose delegates to party conventions. Eg: if Joe Biden gets 50% of the vote in the California primary, he gets about half of California's delegates (the actual math is more complicated, and each party has different rules) Each party holds a convention, at which the delegates vote for the candidate they like. In the first vote, each delegate must vote for the candidate that the voters of his or her state told him or her to vote for. If no one gets a majority, there is a second vote, but in the second vote the delegates can usually vote however they want. After each party nominates a candidate, they candidates compete for votes in the general election (which is in November). Each state has a certain number of electoral votes (1 vote for each Senator, and 1 voter for each Congressperson). As a rule, whoever gets the most votes in any state gets all of that state's electoral votes. (But that is not required. States can decide to split electoral votes if they want to, and one or two small states do that). The person who gets the most electoral votes becomes the President. Note: Technically, the voters choose "electors," and the electors then cast their electoral votes for the candidates. 99.9% of the time, they cast their votes for the candidate whom the voter chose. But it is not clear whether states can require their electors to do that; the Supreme Court will be deciding that soon. Also, elections are winner-take-all, which usually means only 2 parties can win. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law But states can change from winner-take-all to other systems if they want to.

Hi - The reason you're confused is that it's confusing. (All election systems are confusing - I just looked at the wikipedia page for German elections and I'm confused (it looks like you vote for people and parties, but separately? and then somehow or other voila! there's a chancellor? and a president?)) But, for American Presidential elections* this is how it works: - Every state has a certain number of "electors" based on their population - the small states get at least 3. The larger states get more. There is a fixed number of 538 electors. Whoever gets the most electors wins! (That's where 270 comes from - that's the majority of electors if you only have two candidates. If there were more than two candidates, or some electors choose not to vote, or some vote for "Mickey Mouse" someone could win with fewer than 270 votes. But 270 ensures a winner.) Electors vote in December. - States have to choose those electors in a vote on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That day is called "Election Day." (so somewhere between November 2 & November 8 - whichever of those days is a Tuesday). Americans technically do not vote for a president. The ballot says "John Smith" and "Mary Jones" but technically, we're voting for electors who say that they promise to vote for John Smith when the electors vote. Practically, only big parties have a chance. - because elections are run by the States, each State has its own rule on how to get on the ballot. Most states have rules that let someone from a big party on the ballot automatically, but have more rules for people from smaller parties or no party at all to get on the ballot (for example, someone can get a large number of signatures). This is one of the reasons that only big parties have a chance, smaller parties might not even be a choice for some people. More in comments

Both of the explanations contain an error. If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote (at least 270), the President is determined by the rules outlined by the Twelfth Amendment. In that case, essentially, members of the House vote, state by state. This has happened twice. Probably the most important thing to understand about the system is its longevity. The basic system of state representation was in place in 1788, with a number of changes (direct election of electors, who has the right to vote, election of Vice president) This contrasts with the more typical pattern of systems that last a generation or two.