The Electoral College United States of America Presidential Election

Vocabulary 1. President 2. Election 3. Vote 4. Candidate 5. Ballot 6. Popular Vote 7. Electoral College 8. Political Party 9. Citizen 10. Representative 1. президент 2. выборы 3. голосовать 4. кандидат 5. голосование 6. народное голосование 7. коллегия выборщиков 8. Политическая партия 9. гражданин 10. представительлитичес кая партия

Presidential Election Basics Elections are held every 4 years. A President can hold office for 2 terms No more than 8 years Candidates run as a member of a political party The two main political parties: Democratic Party Republican Party Each party has a “Primary Election” to elect their Presidential Candidate

Presidential Candidate True or False Parents must have been born in the US Candidate must have been born in the US At least 40 years old Must have lived in the US for at least 14 years Chooses a “running mate” who will become the Vice President if elected False! True! False! Must be at least 35 years old True!

The US Government

Who sits in Congress? House of Representatives 435 seats total Every State has a different number depending on how many people live in the state Ex. California has 53 while Alaska only has 1 Senate 50 seats total Every State has 2 Senators

How is the President elected? System called The Electoral College On Election Day votes are counted and every state has a winner Every state has different “Electoral Votes” The number of votes is calculated by adding the state’s number of Senators (always 2) and the number of seats in the US House of Representatives. The total number of electoral votes is fixed at 538, + ## = # Electoral Votes per State

Total Electoral College Votes: 538 The President must win 270 to win

True or False! A candidate can win the most popular votes but still lose the election Every state has the same number of Electoral Votes Every State has 2 seats within the Senate A candidate may win only 11/50 states and still win the Presidency True! False! True! True! But it must be the 11 states with the most Electoral Votes

The Electoral College Class Election!

Preparing for the election Split class into 3 groups Red Party Blue Party Undecided Voters Choose a Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidate together (Primary Election) Choose a trustworthy person to count the ballots Create a Campaign Poster with 1-3 words to describe your party and candidates

Information: 7 States 39 Electoral Votes Total 20 Votes Needed to Win 2 Candidates: Red Party Blue Party Who will win?! Country: United Colors of Volleyball Let’s Vote!

Election Directions 1. Each student will be given a color and that is the state in which you will be voting for. 2. Write down your vote on that paper and place into “ballot box” 3. The “official counters” will count every vote in each state and declare a winner for each state. 1. Who won the Popular Vote? 2. Who won the Electoral Vote?

What do you think? Who won the election? Do you like the Electoral College System? What are the benefits? What are the negatives?

2012 November Presidential Election Barack Obama Mitt Romney

2012 Election Results

Election is Complete!