The Electoral College
During each presidential election, both the Democratic and Republican candidate fight for the electoral votes of each state. There are 538 electoral votes, this is based on the states population (Wisconsin has 10, Texas has 34, California has 55, Alaska has 3, etc). Each state has a minimum of 3 electoral votes. The candidates would rather win the states with more electoral votes, because a candidate needs 270 votes (majority) to win the election and become president. The 2012 election, Obama vs. Romney, was not really close. This is because Obama won more "big" states that have 20 or more electoral votes. A candidate wins the states electoral votes IF they win the majority of the citizens votes. If Obama wins 3,000,001 Wisconsin votes and Romney wins 2,999,999 Wisconsin votes, Obama gets all 10 electoral votes(can't split the electoral votes) remember..... you need 270 electoral votes to win the election.