Just 93 out of 538 electoral votes are likely to decide the presidential election. The seven swing states have a combined total of 93 Electoral College votes, or 17.3% of the total, with both candidates devoting huge amounts of time and money trying to win them.

The Electoral College is the unique American system of electing presidents. It is different from the popular vote, and it has an outsize impact on how candidates run and win campaigns. Republicans Trump and Bush lost the popular vote during their presidential runs but won the Electoral College to claim the nation’s top office.

That's because the election is decided through the Electoral College, rather than the popular vote. The system gives electoral votes to each state and the District of Columbia. Each state's number of electoral votes is equal to its number of representatives and senators in Congress,