Here ' s how it works . When we vote for President , we aren ' t actually voting for President . We are voting in individual state contests . Each candidate on the ballot has a slate of electors , that ' s what we are voting for , which slate of electors will be selected for our state , the number of electors is the number of senators and representatives for your state . If Trump won the state , then the Republicans slate of electors are the ones that get selected . Those electors are the ones that actually elect the President . They can technically vote for anyone they want to , and that ' s intended . The actual Election for President is held when the electors cast their votes on December 19 th , and on January 6 th their votes will be read before Congress , and the person with the most electoral votes wins and is sworn in on January 20 th at noon . So technically the election hasn ' t happened yet , and we never actually vote for President either .