The Electoral College

Historical Context The Founding fathers had a hard time deciding how the president should be elected. The first 13 states easily became jealous of each other, and they were all suspicious of the central national government. National campaigns were impractical because everyone was so spread out. Political parties were believed by many to be a very bad idea. “The office should seek the man, the man should not seek the office.” They had a lot to consider!

Methods considered by the constitutional convention Congress could choose the president. This would leave too many hard feelings within congress and would give congress too much power. State legislatures could choose the president. This would give the states too much power, and the nation would lose power. Direct popular vote. Everyone would vote from someone from their own state, and the big states would always win, drowning out the small states. Finally, they decided on a “College of Electors” who would elect the president.

U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1 Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. Every state has 2 senators Every state has a different number of representatives, based on their population Our 2 senators are Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee. Utah has four representatives: Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, Jason Chaffetz, and Mia love.

The first design Since the electors would probably vote for someone from their state, which would give too much power to the states and not enough power to the nation, each elector had to cast two votes. The second vote had to be for someone from another state. The person with the most votes became president. The person in second place became vice president. If there was a tie for president, the House of representatives would vote on the top 5 contenders. If there was a tie for vice president, the Senate would vote. This plan was designed to work for a country with no political parties, and no national campaigns. It lasted for four elections.

The second design By 1800, political parties had formed. IN the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and aaron Burr tied, and it took 36 rounds of voting by the house of representatives for Jefferson to finally gain a majority. Obviously, the plan needed to revised. September 1804 the states adopted the 12th amendment. Now, the electors would cast only one vote for president, and one separate vote for vice president. Each elector had to vote for someone from outside their state, either for president or vice president. A tie would be resolved by the house voting for the top three contenders.

How it works today First, the major political parties in each state elect their electors. During the summer before the election, the major parties hold national conventions where they nominate their candidates for president and vice president. On (or before) election day, the people cast their votes. On the ballot is usually says something like “Electors for (candidate’s name).” The electors then vote for one presidential candidate. The one who wins more than half becomes president. The new president is inaugurated in January.