12.5: Analysis of the Electoral College

I. Original Intentions The original intentions of the electoral college were rooted in the historical context of the time and the need to compromise at the Constitutional Convention There were three ideas, each with problems: 1. elected by Congress – pres. would be dependent on Congress 2. elected by state legislatures – pres. would be dependent on state legislatures 3. popular vote - lack of communication, transportation, and belief that candidates shouldn’t campaign would lead to no national candidates…each state would vote for its favorite son, and the winner would come from the most populous state

instead the electoral college was designed to: have electors from each state choose the president Advantages: electors more knowledgeable about national candidates than average person president not dependent on Congress or state legislatures…also Congressman and government employees can’t be electors Meeting in state capitals prevented bribery or deals states are happy because they can determine method of choosing electors making each elector vote twice, with one vote for someone from a different state made it much more likely someone would get a majority, and that person would be everyone’s second choice…a president with true national appeal giving states electors for senators put them on a more equal footing with large states in choosing the president (from a states’ rights perspective, not a nationalistic perspective) If no majority, the House chooses (the People’s House) House votes by state from top 5…makes small states happy

II. Criticisms Today 1. possibility of electing a minority president (one w/out a majority of the popular vote Its happened quite often for different reasons However…the minority president still either had a plurality of the popular vote, close to a majority of the popular vote if they came in second to govern effectively, or was chosen by the House (people’s House)

2. the problem of faithless electors No faithless electors have ever determined the outcome of an election…usually they do it to make a statement when the election is otherwise decided Can just amend the constitution to keep the electoral college, but get rid of the electors and just rely on the same mathematical formula

3. depresses voter turnout States get the same number of electoral votes regardless of how many of its citizens vote…incentive to keep certain groups from voting and have an elite minority determine the electoral votes However, isn’t this true of all elected offices…reps, senators, governor, etc.

4. fails to accurately reflect the popular will Citizens in small states (rural areas) are overrepresented…but this is true (even more so) in the Senate…and this was on purpose….if you believe in states’ rights…the states being on an equal footing with each other rather than a nationalistic perspective…where the citizens are on an equal footing with each other Winner- take-all system discourages third parties, but this could be a good thing

III. Advantages: 1. contributes to the cohesiveness of the nation Must win a lot of popular vote Must win the popular vote in a lot of different places No one part of the country contains a majority of the electoral college 2. enhances the importance of minority voters because they mean the difference between all or none of the states electoral votes 3. two party system is good because it encourages third parties to become more mainstream and the main parties to absorb third party ideas and protects the presidency from radical ideas 4. balances out nationalistic (unitary) and states rights (confederal) interestes – the House represents the people, the Senate represents the states, the presidency represents the people on an equal footing (electors for each rep) and the states on an equal footing with each other (electors for each senator)

IV. Getting around the Electoral College Some states are forming an interstate compact to award their electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote across the whole nation It is called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact It would essentially guarantee the winner of the national popular vote would win the electoral college when enough states totally 270 electoral votes sign it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Inter state_Compact Until then, the states that have signed it continue to award their electoral votes the way we’ve talked about

12.6: Primaries and Nominations

Intro Before a candidate can compete in the general election, they must first win their party’s nomination There are 3 ways that party’s have nominated their candidates historically:

1. Caucuses (early 1800s) Legislative caucus – in Congress and state legislatures, members of a party would caucus together to nominate their candidate (indirect democracy) Problem: Republican citizens in a congressional district that had elected a Democratic rep would not be represented in the Republican caucus and vice versa Mixed Caucus – allowed Republican delegates from that Democratic district to caucus with the Republicans and vice versa

2. State Conventions (1830s – 1900) In the 1820s, Andrew Jackson complained against the caucus system because the Democratic caucus wouldn’t nominate him He argued for conventions as a more democratic system: state convention system – state party leaders would meet in each state and choose delegates to a national convention who would then nominate the candidate (not democratic at all – party leaders have control over the delegates)

3. Primaries (early 1900s - Present In the early 1900s the primary system developed There are still national conventions, but today 40 states use primary elections to select the delegates to that convention Primary system – each state holds a primary election within a party to choose delegates who are then pledged to go to the national convention to vote for a candidate Similar to the electoral college – the citizens vote, but technically not for a candidate; rather for delegates pledged to a candidate (most democratic

2 Types of Primaries 1. closed – only that party’s registered voters can vote (most common) 2. open – any registered voter can vote (less common) Sometimes “raiding” occurs – Republicans might go and vote in a Democratic primary for the least desirable candidate to ensure the Republican has a better chance in the general election

2 Methods of Choosing Delegates 1. winner-take all – whoever wins that state’s popular vote gets all that state’s delegates * Obama gets 51% of the vote, but 100% of the delegates 2. proportional – each candidate gets delegates in proportion to the votes they receive in the primary * Obama 51% of the vote; 51% of the delegates * Clinton 49% of the vote; 49% of the delegates

The Primary/Caucus Season 40 states hold primary elections; 10 hold caucuses or conventions to select delegates to the national convention This occurs between January and June Candidates focus all their energy in the primary campaign on the early states to build momentum Super Tuesday – date (usually in Feb.) when the most states hold their primaries/caucuses on the same day

The National Convention Each state gets different numbers of delegates to their national party convention (its in the 1,000s) The national conventions are held in late summer Here the delegates take a roll call vote by state to nominate the candidate from each party for president This candidate then becomes the party’s official nominee and begins campaigning in the general election Generally, the presidential nominee announces his VP running mate at the convention and its their choice Just like the electoral college, we generally know who the party is going to nominate going into the convention, b/c we know who won each state’s primary or caucus – although its much more complicated because of the numbers and the widely varying state laws