The Electoral College

WHAT IS IT???????? It is the system that is used to elect the President every four years. It can be a little difficult to understand so let’s take it one step at a time.

How does it work? Each state is given a certain number of “electoral” votes, aka EVs This number is based on each state’s number of Senators + Representatives.

Who decides how many Senators and Representatives each state has? The Constitution does! The # of votes a state gets is determined by the census every ten years

The Constitution says: Each state, regardless of size, will have 2 Senators. Each state’s number of Representatives in the House of Representatives will be based on each state’s population. The number of electoral votes is equal to the number of Senators plus the number of Representatives.

Example Time- Kansas has 2 Senators Kansas has 4 Representatives in the House. So 4 + 2 = 6 electoral college votes for Kansas. Minimum # EVs a state can have is 3.

Another example + other stuff California has 2 Senators (like every other state) but…… Since California is much more populated than Kansas they have many more Representatives in the House. They have 53 reps. So California has 55 electoral votes. Between the 1988 & 1992 elections, CA gained 7 votes, NY lost 3 … so? CA is most progressive state NY is center of our financial system

D.C. could not vote for president, until the 23rd Amendment. D.C. has 3 electoral votes!

So if my vote doesn’t even count, why vote then So if my vote doesn’t even count, why vote then? Maybe I’ll just stay home and listen to Tupac! Your vote counts- Each state conducts its own popular vote for president. The winner of each state’s popular vote gets that state’s electoral college votes. The winner of the majority of the electoral college votes wins the presidency.

Why should people from small states even vote? Even though it may seem as though the small states don’t matter, they do. A candidate who wins the larger states still has to win some small states in order to get the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency.

There are a total of 538 electoral college votes. “Now that I understand better, the electoral college makes me happy, almost as happy as this little guy! But how many electoral college votes does someone need in order to win?” There are a total of 538 electoral college votes. A candidate needs 270 to win, it is a simple majority.

Review!!!!!!! A candidate must win the electoral college vote in order to become president. Each state has a set number of electoral votes to cast for president that is based on its number of Senators and Representatives.

Review continued!!!!!! Each state conducts its own popular vote and the winner of that election gets that state's electoral votes. There are 538 possible electoral college votes, a candidate must win 270 (majority) to win the presidency. That lady(?) has a very vivid imagination when angered.

QUIZ TIME … :) One single sheet of paper Number your paper 1-10 Write answer only No talking! No notes or phones! Quiz me already, please!