Question

What parts of the presidential election process are explicitly established by the Constitution? What parts are not mentioned in the Constitution?

Answer 1

The Electoral College is defined in the Constitution, and how many electoral votes each state gets, but the Constitution says how each state chooses its electors is up to the state's legislature.

In the first few elections, many state legislatures simply appointed the electors directly. However it pretty rapidly became the standard for states to hold elections (at the same time as elections were held for Representatives and Senators) in which electors were chosen directly by the people. Most states decree that the winner of the state election gets to appoint all of the state's electors ("winner takes all") but there are variations. I think Nebraska and Maine say that the winner of each Congressional district gets to appoint an elector from that district, so it is possible for the state's electors to NOT all go to the same candidate.

Answer 2

Thanks