Video Review of the Presidency: Presidential Roles and Powers

Video Review of the Presidency: Caucuses and Primaries

The Electoral College Explained

A Short History of the Electoral College Article II Section I Clause II: “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.” Election of 1800 results in 12 th Amendment Separate ballots for Pres. And V.P. By 1860 all States adopt practice of having presidential electors chosen by popular vote, thus beginning the “Winner-Take-All” system (more about that later) 23 rd Amendment gives D.C. 3 Electoral Votes (1961)

Who Are These Electors? Political parties identify their “slate of electors” at their state conventions This “slate of electors” are people who have pledged to cast their vote for a specific candidate, (typically aligned with a party) Each of the parties in an election has a “slate of electors” which are pledged to vote for their parties candidate In 26 states, it is a law for these electors to cast votes towards their pledge, failure to do so is called a “broken pledge” In most states the electors are assigned a Congressional district So on election day even though you see presidential candidate names on the ballot, you are actually voting for the elector pledged to vote for the candidate you want.

How Many Electors…… Are there total? House, 100 Senate, 3 D.C. Are there per state? The number of electors is equal to the number of representatives that state has in Congress Votes are needed to win an election? 270, a majority of the 538 possible

Electoral College Significant Dates in the Electoral College *General Election – First Tuesday after the first Monday in November *Electors cast their ballots in the state capitol on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December *Jan 6 – President of the Senate counts the electoral ballots in front of a joint session of congress *Jan 20 – Inauguration Day, President is sworn into office.

The Electoral College Today:  Electors are chosen by popular vote of each state (On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in Nov. – General Election)  The Presidential Candidate that wins the majority of the popular vote in each State gets all of that State’s electoral votes (Winner take all except in the States of Maine and Nebraska)  Electors meet at a time set by law to elect the President, (Monday after the second Wednesday in December)  and their votes are sent by registered mail to Washington, where they are counted on  January 6 th by the President of the Senate

2008 Electoral College Results

Electoral College What if; A Presidential candidate does not receive 270 electoral votes, Then The House of Representatives decides upon the president from the top 3 candidates, with each state getting 1 vote And The Senate decides upon the Vice President from the top 2 candidates. If The House of Representatives has not decided on a the President by January 20, the newly selected Vice President will be acting President until one is selected by the House of Representatives.

. Flaws in the Electoral College  The First Major Defect –  Because electoral votes are not distributed in exact proportion to the population…  The winner of the popular vote may not win the electoral vote Andrew Jackson (1824), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Grover Cleveland (1888), Al Gore (2000)  The Second Major Defect –  Electors are not bound by the Constitution or  By any federal law to vote for the candidate favored by the people of their State  The Third Major Defect –  Elections may be thrown into the House of Representatives where each state, regardless of population, gets 1 vote

Proposed Reforms:  The District Plan –  Plan would allow electors to be elected in each congressional district – 2 additional electoral votes would go to the candidate that won the state  Rather than the current winner-take-all plan  The Proportional Plan –  Plan would give each candidate the share of the electoral vote that he or she earned in the popular vote

Proposed Reforms  Direct Popular Election –  Under this system  The Electoral college would be abolished  And each citizen’s vote would count equally toward the presidential election  Small states would not benefit from this  The National Bonus Plan –  Under this complex plan  The winner-take-all feature of the electoral college would be kept but weighted in favor of the winner of the popular vote – 102 additional electoral votes  And the electoral college would be neutralized

Electoral College Debate You will be assigned to one of the four proposed reforms or the “As Is” plan and must accomplish the following: Demonstrate understanding of your argument by accurately presenting it as the best option for electing a president today. Successfully convince the panel that your option is the best option. (Panel will vote at end of class, winner gets double-curve on test) Answer rebuttals consistent with your plan. Identify the flaws in opposing plans Address flaws in your plan Answer moderator questions

Debate Questions 1. Each group will present their plan minute challenge session. Each group will get one minute to challenge another plan in which they identify flaws and/or question its effectiveness. 3. Rebuttals Moderator Question: 1. Does your plan favor the large or small states? 2. Does your plan promote an equal voice for all voters? 3. What constituents would gain and/or lose power from your plan?