HOW DOES HE/SHE GET IN OFFICE? Presidential Selection/Election

The Original Idea The Framers gave much deliberation to the selection of the president  People were against both ways; congress and the people Popular vote was out  Largely due to an information gap Settled on presidential electors  Each would cast two votes  Winner becomes POTUS, second becomes VP Came to be known as the electoral college

Breakdown of the System The original system began to break down in 1796  Due to political parties John Adams was POTUS (Federalist) Thomas Jefferson was VP (Democratic-Republican) Election of 1800 took 36 ballots in the house to decide  Democratic-Republican electors split their votes  Created a tie for president  Parties now “nominated” candidates for President and VP

The 12 th Amendment Added to the Constitution in 1804 Made only one major change Electors now vote for President on one ballot Vote for VP on separate ballot

Nominations and Conventions No mention of conventions or nominations in Constitution  Built by the political parties themselves  Party out of power usually goes first  Can be great financially for the host city Each state sends delegates Complicated formulas based on electoral size and other factors  Over 2200 for Republicans  Over 4000 for Democrats

Primaries Most of the delegates selected come from primaries Primary is an election where voters:  Choose some or all of a State party organizations delegates to their party’s convention  Express a preference among contenders for the election First primaries appears in early 1900s  Combating corruption and political bosses Candidates are selected based on their availability to get elected to the presidency  Name, money, etc. Primaries can be very hotly contested  Usually for party out of power

National Convention First two days are spent adopting the party platform and having a key note speaker  Platform is the party principles and beliefs  Key not speeches glorify the party Last two days are spent nominating the candidate  VP is selected based on the candidates wishes  Presidential candidate is usually selected on one ballot

The Nominee Chosen for likelihood to get elected  Well known records in office  Free of controversy  Governors are very common, as are senators  Most are protestant  Come from larger states  Have a healthy appearance and solid family  Ability to project ones self in public is key as well

The Electoral College Today Electors are chosen by popular vote  Generally awarded on a winner take all basis  Meet on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December  President technically elected on January 6 th Requires 270 votes to become president  If no majority, the House decides POTUS  Each state delegation has one vote Senate decides VP in a tie  All 100 vote in senate

Flaws in the College First: Winner of popular vote may not win the electoral vote  Due to the winner take all nature of the electoral vote  Also due to the way votes are proportioned  Happened in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 Second: Nothing requires electors to vote for the candidate favored by popular vote in their state  Faithless electors: happened eleven times  Never affected an election Third: election could be decided in the House  Each states has one “vote”  Could bog down the election process