ELECTION: The upcoming presidential election has been dominating the news.

We thought we’d take a moment to refresh your memory on how the presidential election process works.

Here’s the part people are familiar with: “People in every state across the country vote for one President and Vice President. When Americans go to the polls in November they will select their favorite presidential candidate and their running mate,” according to the U.S. government.

And here’s where it tends to get fuzzy: “When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors. Except in the states of Maine and Nebraska, if a candidate receives the majority of the votes from the people of a state then the candidate will receive all electoral votes of that state. The presidential nominee with the most electoral votes becomes the President of the United States.”

The process of using an electoral college comes from the Constitution, a compromise between a popular vote by citizens and a vote in Congress.

Each state has as many electors — appointed by the candidates — as it does members of Congress. After voting is completed, the winner gets all the electoral votes for that state, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, where the electoral votes are divided in a proportional system.

Each elector casts one vote following the general election, and the candidate who gets more than half (270) wins.

If no candidate receives 270 votes, the presidential election moves to the House of Representatives. This hasn’t happened since 1824 with the election of John Quincy Adams.

While many decry the electoral college process, changing it would take an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Clear as mud?