Monday, October 29 Electoral College 10 Billion Homework: Voter’s Guide Topic

Federalism Allows for different levels of government such as local, state, and federal governments.

Constitution Written plan of government Our first constitution was the Articles of Confederation. However they were weak and therefore the delegates would meet again to rewrite the Articles but would choose to throw out the document and create the Constitution of the United States.

There are seven Articles of the Constitution. Article I deals with Congress Article II of the Constitution deals with the executive branch or the President. Article III deals with the judicial branch. Article IV deals with the relationship between state governments and the federal government Article V is the amendment process Article VI states the Supremacy Clause Article VII is the ratification process of the Constitution

Electoral College U.S. Constitution Article II, Section I – Clause 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:

U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section I Clause 2: 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.

Article II, Section I, Clause III The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no Person has a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the Votes shall be taken by states, the Representation from each state having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.

10 th Amendment to the Constitution The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Chapter 208. Presidential Electors Passed by MN State Legislature DEFINITIONS. The words used in this chapter have the meanings prescribed to them in chapter 200.

ELECTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. Presidential electors shall be chosen at the state general election held in the year preceding the expiration of the term of the president of the United States.

NOMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. Presidential electors for the major political parties of this state shall be nominated by delegate conventions called and held under the supervision of the respective state central committees of the parties of this state. At least 71 days before the general election day the chair of the major political party shall certify to the secretary of state the names of the persons nominated as presidential electors, the names of eight alternate presidential electors, and the names of the party candidates for president and vice president. The chair shall also certify that the party candidates for president and vice president have no affidavit on file as a candidate for any office in this state at the ensuing general election.

PREPARATION OF BALLOTS. Subdivision 1. Form of presidential ballots. When presidential electors and alternates are to be voted for, a vote cast for the party candidates for president and vice president shall be deemed a vote for that party's electors and alternates as filed with the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall certify the names of all duly nominated presidential and vice presidential candidates to the county auditors of the counties of the state. Each county auditor, subject to the rules of the secretary of state, shall cause the names of the candidates of each major political party and the candidates nominated by petition to be printed in capital letters, set in type of the same size and style as for candidates on the state white ballot, before the party designation. To the left of, and on the same line with the names of the candidates for president and vice president, near the margin, shall be placed a square or box, in which the voters may indicate their choice by marking an "X." The form for the presidential ballot and the relative position of the several candidates shall be determined by the rules applicable to other state officers. The state ballot, with the required heading, shall be printed on the same piece of paper and shall be below the presidential ballot with a blank space between one inch in width. Subd. 2.Applicable rules. The rules for preparation, state contribution to the cost of printing, and delivery of presidential ballots are the same as the rules for white ballots under section 204D.11, subdivision 1.204D.11, subdivision 1

State Canvassing Board The State Canvassing Board at its meeting on the date provided in section 204C.33 shall open and canvass the returns made to the secretary of state for presidential electors and alternates, prepare a statement of the number of votes cast for the persons receiving votes for these offices, and declare the person or persons receiving the highest number of votes for each office duly elected. When it appears that more than the number of persons to be elected as presidential electors or alternates have the highest and an equal number of votes, the secretary of state, in the presence of the board shall decide by lot which of the persons shall be declared elected. The governor shall transmit to each person declared elected a certificate of election, signed by the governor, sealed with the state seal, and countersigned by the secretary of state.204C.33

ELECTORS TO MEET AT STATE CAPITOL; FILLING OF VACANCIES. The presidential electors and alternate presidential electors, before 12:00 M. on the day before that fixed by Congress for the electors to vote for president and vice president of the United States, shall notify the governor that they are at the State Capitol and ready at the proper time to fulfill their duties as electors. The governor shall deliver to the electors present a certificate of the names of all the electors. If any elector named therein fails to appear before 9:00 a.m. on the day, and at the place, fixed for voting for president and vice president of the United States, an alternate, chosen from among the alternates by lot, shall be appointed to act for that elector. If more than eight alternates are necessary, the electors present shall, in the presence of the governor, immediately elect by ballot a person to fill the vacancy. If more than the number of persons required have the highest and an equal number of votes, the governor, in the presence of the electors attending, shall decide by lot which of those persons shall be elected.

CERTIFICATE OF ELECTORS. Immediately after the vacancies have been filled, the original electors and alternates present shall certify to the governor the names of the persons elected to complete their number, and the governor shall at once cause written notice to be given to each person elected to fill a vacancy. The persons so chosen shall be presidential electors and shall meet and act with the other electors.

ELECTORS TO MEET AT STATE CAPITOL. The original, alternate, and substituted presidential electors, at 12:00 M., shall meet in the executive chamber at the State Capitol and shall perform all the duties imposed upon them as electors by the Constitution and laws of the United States and this state. Each elector, as a condition of having been chosen under the name of the party of a presidential and a vice presidential candidate, is obligated to vote for those candidates. The elector shall speak aloud or affirm in a nonverbal manner the name of the candidate for president and for vice president for whom the elector is voting and then confirm that vote by written public ballot. If an elector fails to cast a ballot for the presidential or vice presidential candidate of the party under whose name the elector was chosen, the elector's vote or abstention is invalidated and an alternate presidential elector, chosen by lot from among the alternates, shall cast a ballot in the name of the elector for the presidential and vice presidential candidate of the party under whose name the elector was chosen. The invalidation of an elector's vote or abstention on the ballot for president or vice president does not apply if the presidential candidate under whose party's name the elector was chosen has without condition released the elector or has died or become mentally disabled.

Electoral College Map

How many total electors are there? 435 = total number of members of the House of Representatives 100 = total number of U.S. Senators 3 = electors from the District of Columbia _______________________ 538 possible electoral votes

The 23 rd Amendment gives D.C. 3 Electoral Votes Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

How do we determine how many electors each state has? Number of Senators (always 2) Plus Number of House Members (varies dependent upon a state’s population) Equals the number of a state’s electors.

Target number 270 The presidential candidate who receives a minimum of 270 electoral votes will become the President of the United States.

Notice Maine and Nebraska Only Maine and Nebraska use the district method concerning the electoral college. That means that each Congressional District can give their votes to a different presidental candidate. 48 states use the “winner take all” method meaning that whoever wins the popular vote will receive all of the state’s electoral votes.

Can you win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote? Yes. The most recent example of this was in Al Gore defeated George W. Bush using the popular votes but lost to Bush. Bush 271 electoral votes 50,456,062 Gore 266 electoral votes 50,996,582 Gore received 540,520 more votes than did Bush but because Bush won states with a greater total of electoral votes, he would become the president. We don’t know how this changed the world but we do know that this changes the world as a whole.

Assignment Read the article on Ohio and the electoral college. Assignment: Write a ¾ - 1 page summary explaining why Ohio is so important to this particular presidential election. Do not plagiarize!!!