Final answer:
The assertion that individual votes directly determine the president is false, as the U.S. president is elected through the Electoral College system.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that it's the votes of people living in the 50 states (and Washington, DC) that directly determine who will be the next president is false. In the United States, the president is not elected by a direct popular vote but by an indirect vote through the Electoral College. Each state, along with Washington, DC, has a certain number of electors based on its congressional representation.
In forty-eight states and Washington, DC, the winner of the popular vote in the November general election receives all of the state's electoral votes through a winner-take-all system. However, in Nebraska and Maine, the electoral votes are distributed proportionally, partially based on the popular vote within congressional districts.
Voters cast their ballots for electors pledged to vote for specific candidates. These electors meet in December to formally vote for the president and vice president. The candidate who wins the majority of the Electoral College votes becomes the next president, though this may not always align with the nationwide popular vote.