Republican presidential hopeful John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama split the first batch of electoral votes as projected election results came out from Kentucky and Vermont on Tuesday night.

McCain took away the 8 electoral votes in Kentucky while Obama carried the 3 votes in Vermont. There is no surprise in the outcome because Kentucky is a solid red state while Vermont a traditional blue.

More results are expected to pour in as the day-long marathon balloting are closing across the nation.

Americans elect their president and vice president under the process of the Electoral College. There are 538 electors in the Electoral College, 270 votes are needed to win the presidential election.

So when Americans cast their votes for president and vice president, they actually voting for the set of electors allotted to the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The number of electors is equal to a state's number of representatives (based on population) and senators (two per state) in the U.S. Congress. In addition, the District of Columbia has three Electoral College Votes. 

(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2008)