Warm-up What do the following four men all have in common? Andrew Jackson Samuel Tilden Grover Cleveland Al Gore

The Answer They all won the popular vote in a Presidential election but did not become President.

1824 Popular Vote Andrew Jackson 43% John Q. Adams 30.5% Electoral Vote Jackson 84 votes Adams 99 votes Winner: Adams

1876 Popular Vote Samuel Tilden 51% R. B. Hayes 48% Electoral College Winner: Hayes

1888 Popular Vote Grover Cleveland 48.5 % Benjamin Harrison 47.8 % Electoral College Cleveland 168 Harrison 233 Winner: Harrison

2000 Popular Vote Albert Gore 48.7% George W. Bush 48.5% Electoral College Gore 266 Bush 271 Winner: Bush

The Electoral College

Objectives What is the function of the Electoral College? What are the pros and cons of the Electoral College?

Standards GC.31 Analyze the function of the Electoral College. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468&list=FLSDYXneXxlqBf4pCNL3u2XA&index=1 http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html

1. What is the Electoral College? We do not elect directly our President. Instead, we select electors. These electors form what is called the Electoral College and are the people who officially elect the President.

2. Why was the Electoral College created? Framers were concerned that people were not knowledgeable enough to select a President To give the states a voice in choosing the President

3. How is the number of electors for each State determined? Each state is represented according to their total number of members of Congress 100 senators + 435 representatives + 3 electoral votes for Washington, DC = 538 electors

4. How many electors does Tennessee have? 2 senators + 9 representatives = 11 electoral votes

5. How many votes a presidential candidate needs from the Electoral College in order to become President? at least 270 electoral votes Casts votes in December

6. How does each State determine how many electoral votes each candidate will get? Individual votes count only in the state where they are cast When all states have voted, the candidate with the most votes in each state gets all the electoral votes of that state  winner-take all system! Example: if a person gets 50.1% of the popular vote (in a two man race), he get 100% of the electoral votes in that State.

7. Who are electors? How are they chosen? They are chosen by the political parties in each state They usually respect the popular vote in their State http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html

8. What happens when no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes? House of Representative elects the President Senate elects the Vice-President. This has not happened since 1824.

9. What are the PROS of the Electoral College? Contributes to national unity Maintains a federal system - winning individual States is important Preserves the two-party system

10. What are the CONS of the Electoral College? Encourages low voter turnout Person with most popular votes may not win Diminishes minor party influence

Review What is the Electoral College? How many electors does Tennessee have? How many votes a presidential candidate needs from the Electoral College in order to become President? How does each State determine how many electoral votes each candidate will get?

Map Activity Look at the map on the back of your handout. Answer the following question: “If you were running for President with limited money and could only focus on a few states, where would you center your campaign?” List the states, in order, that you would need to win the necessary 270 Electoral College votes.

Resources http://www.270towin.com/historical-presidential-elections/timeline/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468&list=FLSDYXneXxlqBf4pCNL3u2XA&index=1 (5:21) http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html (3:54)

Conclusion Do you think the Electoral College is a fair and democratic process? Why or why not? Do you believe the Electoral College should be abolished? Why or why not? Write at least 5 sentences

X – do not do! Research Assignment Research a proposed reform to the Electoral College that was never ratified. Write a short essay describing what the reform was, when it was proposed, and why it failed. Make sure to include your own opinion about the proposed reform and whether or not you would support it.