You have never voted for president and probably never will. Only 538 people in the United States will acquire the right to vote for president this year, and you’re not one of them.

Instead, when you “vote for president,” you actually vote for electors who are tasked with representing the majority vote in your state. These electors form the Electoral College. They, not the American people as a whole, choose the president. In 1876, 1888, and 2000, the winning candidate lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College.