ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Something to think about… What is the main purpose of the Electoral College?

When you vote for a presidential election, your vote is part of the POPULAR VOTE. Presidents are not elected by the POPULAR VOTE. Your vote is actually for people called electors.

Electors : One of the people chosen from each state & D.C. who formally select the President and Vice President. The Group of Electors is called the Electoral College.

Qualifications  Each state appoints its electors. A state’s certification of its electors is generally sufficient to establish the qualifications of electors.  Cannot be: Senator, Representative or person holding an office in the U.S. govt State officials who have engaged in rebellion against the U.S. or given aid & comfort to its enemies (post-Civil War era)

Here’s the deal TThere are 538 electors in the electoral college. EEach state has a # of electors equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives it has in Congress. 23 amendment HHow is representation in Congress based again?

 The candidate who receives a majority (270 or more) of the electoral votes becomes the next president.  If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the House of Representatives chooses the president from the 3 leading candidates.

The Two Elections  Primary Election- NOMINATE A CANDIDATE for political office Are used to see which candidate is going to represent a political party.  General Election- PUT A CANDIDATE IN OFFICE. Candidates of different parties run against each other for election to political office  Which election uses the Electoral College?

Nomination Process  Caucus  Selects a candidate for presidential office where a closed number of party members vote instead of a direct primary where everyone can vote.  National Convention  Nominate a presidential and vice presidential ticket and platform for the election  Primary Election  Qualified voters choose a candidate to represent their party in the General Election.

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 Many Americans regularly choose not to vote in elections. Why do you think people choose not to vote?

 The main reason people choose not to vote is Voter Apathy – lack of interest in politics.

Something to Think About  Is the purpose of a democracy to represent the people? If you consider the basic principle of Popular Sovereignty, who actually has the power? Does this Electoral College system represent the people? Should each vote count? Are the people of this country smart enough to make the “right” decision? Are You?

What is the Alternative?  Winner Take All System (First past the Post) If you win the vote, you get all the votes  Proportional Representation If you win 30% of the vote, you are represented 30% in the government  Are these Better systems? Fairer systems?

National Bonus Plan  538 electoral votes  102 votes are awarded to the candidate that wins popular vote with over 40%  National popular Vote.com says that all electoral votes will be awarded to the candidate that that wins the popular vote in all 50 states and D.C.

n In the current system, is your vote meaningful? n Do you think that these alternatives make it more meaningful? Why? n Will you vote at 18 if the system stays the same? n What if it Changes?

Voting Qualifications

Universal Requirements  Citizenship Aliens are generally denied the right to vote However, nothing in the constitution says that they can’t Any state could allow them to do so if it chose to

Residence You have to be a legal resident in the state that you wish to cast a vote in  To prevent bribery of outsiders to sway the election results  To be sure that the citizens have enough time to become familiar with the candidates  Voting Rights Act 1970: Banned any waiting period or more than 30 days for a presidential election

Age 26th Amendment: Voting age can be no more than 18 However, it can be less What else can you legally do when you are 18 years old?

Other Requirements  Registration 49 states require voters to be registered North Dakota does not require registration

Other Requirements  Literacy No states today have literacy requirements  Tax Payment 24th Amendment Outlawed the poll tax

Other Requirements  15th Amendment Right to vote cannot be denied based on race, color, or previous servitude  19th Amendment  Right to vote cannot be based on sex