Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution provides that the President is elected by what body?

• A. Direct popular vote
• B. The Electoral College
• C. Congress
• D. State legislatures

Answer: (B)

The mechanism being tested is the method the Constitution sets for choosing the president: through a body called the Electoral College. Article II, Section 1 assigns each state a slate of electors equal to its total number of Senators and Representatives, and these electors meet to cast votes for president. A majority of electoral votes is required to win, and in practice most states use winner-take-all rules to translate the state popular vote into their electors. This is what makes the presidency come from the Electoral College rather than a direct nationwide vote. The other options don’t fit because the Constitution does not designate a direct popular vote, Congress, or state legislatures as the body that directly elects the president.