Section 8.2 Electing the President
Reflection Question All semester long we’ve been referring to our system of government as a democratic system. Is this really the case?
Key Terms (pg.220) Define – elector, electoral vote
Origins of the Electoral College Initially, at the Constitutional Convention, the Founders proposed that Congress choose the president without a popular vote taking place. However, they gave up on this idea because it violated the concept of separation of powers. Congress would have dominated the office of the presidency.
Origins (cont.) They also considered direct popular vote. But some Founders were weary of this choice since many citizens knew little about potential candidates. Why was this the case?
Origins (cont.) After weeks of debate, the Founders settled on a compromise that was introduced by Alexander Hamilton. This compromise was an indirect form of voting that is known as the Electoral College.
The Original System Article II, Section 1, established the Electoral College. Each state chooses electors. The amount of electors is dependent on how many senators and representatives that state has. At election time, the electors would meet in their own state and cast votes for two presidential candidates. This vote was the electoral vote. No popular vote was cast for the early presidential elections.
The Impact of Political Parties As political parties took shape, they began to nominate candidates for president and vice president as well as electors in every state.
The Impact (cont.) A tie election in 1800 led to the House of Representatives deciding that Thomas Jefferson would be president and Aaron Burr the vice president. The 12th Amendment was created to clear up the rules regarding the electoral college. In the 1820s states began to place presidential candidates on the ballot. Since then political parties have chosen electors by popular vote.
BREAK: School House Rocks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaPlIcQw_dg
The Electoral College System Today In actuality, when you cast a vote for president and the vice president, you are actually voting a party’s electors. The Electoral College includes 538 electors. To be elected president or vice president, a candidate must win at least 270 of the 538 votes.
System Today (cont.) The Electoral College is a winner-take-all system. The party whose candidate receives the largest popular vote in any state wins all the electoral votes of that state. The winning pres. Candidate is usually announced on the same evening as the popular election because popular-vote counts indicate who won each state.
System Today (cont.) Most states do not legally require electors to vote for the candidate who wins the popular vote, but most electors usually do so. To date, four presidents have been elected who lost the popular vote.
Electoral College Issues (Read at home pg. 223-226. Something from this section will be on the test.)
The Inauguration January 20th following the election the president-elect takes over as the new president. By custom, an inaugural ceremony is held outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Section 8.2 Assessment Answer question #6 on pg.226. Also, answer this question, “Should we continue to use the Electoral College to elect the president and vice president? Why or why not?”