In a winner-take-all system, what happens to the electoral votes if a candidate receives the majority?

In a winner-take-all system, the candidate who receives the majority of the votes in that particular state gains all of the state's electoral votes. This system is designed to translate a majority of the popular vote into a decisive electoral outcome without dividing votes among multiple candidates.

When a candidate achieves the majority, they receive the complete allocation of electoral votes from the state, which gives them a significant advantage in the overall race for the presidency. This characteristic of the winner-take-all approach underscores the importance of each state's vote in the Electoral College process: it incentivizes campaigns to focus on winning states outright rather than simply amassing a plurality of votes nationwide.

Other options such as splitting votes or equal distribution do not apply in this context, as those would reduce the significance of winning individual states in the electoral process. Additionally, while winning the popular vote can influence campaign strategy, it is not a prerequisite for winning the electoral votes in this particular system, which is why that option does not pertain specifically to how votes are allocated in a winner-take-all context.