What exactly is a popular vote

A popular vote works just like it sounds. A group of people vote on an issue or candidate. The votes are then tallied, and the issues or candidates are rank-ordered. The person or issue with the most votes wins. Therefore, a popular vote is really just a method of selecting a candidate or adopting an issue based on a majority of the total voters in an election. It really is quite simple.

When individuals cast ballots in the general election, they are choosing electors and telling them whom they should vote for in the Electoral College. The "national popular vote" is the sum of all the votes cast in the general election, nationwide.