勝者全拿
Contrary to what many people think about U.S. presidential elections, the president is not chosen by the winner of the popular vote.
與許多人對美國總統選舉的想法相反，美國總統並非由普選的勝出者選出。
contrary to與～相反、不同
Instead, there is a process called the Electoral College that is used to officially elect the president.
相反地，有一個名為「選舉人團」的程序來正式選舉總統。
officially(adv.)官方的;正式的
This type of “college” is “a group of people with a shared task.”
這類「團體」是「一群有共同任務的人」。
shared(adj.)共享的;共同承擔的task(n.)任務
In the case of the Electoral College, the task is to elect the president of the United States.
就選舉人團而言，其任務是選舉美國總統。
in the case of…關於…;在…情況下
In presidential elections since 1964, the Electoral College has been made up of 538 electors.
在1964年以來的總統選舉中，選舉人團由538名選舉人組成。
be made up of由～所組成=be composed of=be comprised of=consist of
Each state, along with the District of Columbia, provides a number of electors based on the size of its population.
每個州以及哥倫比亞特區根據其人口數提供一定人數的選舉人。
along with=together with連同著based on根據;基於
For example, California has the most electors — 54 — while a handful of states only have 3.
例如，加州擁有最多的選舉人——54名，而少數州只有3名。
handful(n.)少數、少量a handful of少數的、少量的
The winning candidate needs at least 270 votes from these electors to become president.
獲勝的候選人需要從這些選舉人那裡獲得至少270票才能成為總統。
candidate(n.)候選人
Despite the final vote being cast by these electors, individual votes of citizens count.
儘管最終投票由這些選舉人完成，但公民的個人投票也很重要。
despite(prep.)儘管cast a vote投票count(v.)重要It is the thought that counts.心意最重要
This is because nearly all states are “winner-take-all,” with the candidate that wins the majority of the popular vote in each state earning all of its electoral votes.
這是因為幾乎所有的州都是「勝者全拿」，即在每個州贏得多數普選票的候選人將贏得該州所有的選舉人票。
majority(n.)大多數、大部分
Due to this process, it is still possible for a candidate to win the popular vote among U.S. voters and not be elected president.
由於這個程序，候選人仍有可能在美國選民中贏得普選票多數，卻無法當選總統。
This most recently happened in 2016 when Donald Trump became president.
這種情況最近一次發生在2016年川普當選總統時。
He lost the popular vote by nearly three million but received more electoral votes than his opponent Hilary Clinton.
他在普選中以近300萬票落敗，但卻比對手希拉蕊獲得了更多的選舉人票。
opponent(n.)對手
Some people believe the Electoral College should be abolished in favor of letting the popular vote decide who is elected president.
有些人認為應該廢除選舉人團，改由普選決定誰當選總統。
abolish(v.)廢除in favor of支持;贊成in sb.’s favor對某人有利
However, since the process is written into the U.S. Constitution, it would be very difficult to change.
然而，由於這一程序已寫入美國憲法，因此很難改變。
be set or carved in stone無法改變的;鐵定的;鐵板釘釘的