The quadrennial contest for the White House usually brings up temporary, tepid discussion of the electoral college - one of the factors mitigating against democracy in the United States, like the Senate or the constant threat of filibuster.
Simply put, when we vote for the candidate of our choice, we instead participate in an intrastate election process. The winner of the state election is awarded that state's "electoral" votes, which are then entered into the national election by a group of electors (with Maine and Nebraska being a partial exception to this system).
So in the case of Illinois, the state has 20 electoral votes (down from 21 due to the change in the state's population as of the 2010 census). Come November 6, it is highly likely that Obama will defeat Romney, in which case Obama will receive those 20 votes. In other words, the winner takes all. Therefore, the votes for Romney in Illinois, in effect, won't count.
This is hardly a participatory system, and one that could easily be dismantled with the slightest popular pressure.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/sep/28/us-electoral-college-explained
