How does the Electoral College work?

What is the Electoral College? Group of electors (people who select the president) chosen from each state Electors meet in their state capitols in December after the November general election and officially select the president and vice president This is an indirect method of selecting the president

Why do we use the Electoral College? Constitutional Convention (the meeting where the Constitution was written) Debate over who should elect the president – people or Congress? Compromise – group of people appointed in each state to indirectly elect the president

How does the Electoral College work? Each state is assigned a number of electors based on population Number of Senators (2) + Number of Representatives (population) = Number of Electors for the State 538 Total Electors An absolute majority – required to win

How does the Electoral College work? Winner-take-all (except Maine and Nebraska) Popular vote in the state is used to appoint electors Popular vote in the country is counted… but not used for the election Possible to win the popular vote and lose the electoral vote (and the election)

Has anyone won the presidency without winning the popular vote? 1.In 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected president despite not winning either the popular vote or the electoral vote. Andrew Jackson was the winner in both categories. Jackson received 38,000 more popular votes than Adams, and beat him in the electoral vote 99 to 84. Despite his victories, Jackson didn’t reach the majority 131 votes needed in the Electoral College to be declared president. In fact, neither candidate did. The decision went to the House of Representatives, which voted Adams into the White House.1824

2. In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the election1876 (by a margin of one electoral vote), but he lost the popular vote by more than 250,000 ballots to Samuel J. Tilden. 3. In 1888, Benjamin Harrison received electoral votes to Grover Cleveland’s 168, winning the presidency. But Harrison lost the popular vote by more than 90,000 votes.

4. In 2000, George W. Bush was declared the2000 winner of the general election and became the 43rd president, but he didn’t win the popular vote either. Al Gore holds that distinction, garnering about 540,000 more votes than Bush. However, Bush won the electoral vote, 271 to 266. Bush was the only of the four presidents to win the presidency without winning the popular vote who was able to win a second term.

What happens if none of the candidates receive 270 electors? House of Representatives picks the President Senate picks the Vice President House chooses between the top three candidates Senate chooses between the top two candidates

What happens if an elector doesn’t vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in the state? No Constitutional requirement No federal law to prevent it States govern their electors 24 states have laws to punish the elector Some states void the elector’s vote Some states don’t have rules to prevent it Electors are typically chosen by the political party they represent, loyal to the party and candidate

Think: Reasons to keep the Electoral College…

Reasons to keep the Electoral College… Prevents heavily populated cities from determining the outcome of elections Forces candidates to pay attention to small states Enhances importance of minority groups Each state has its own election system – no federal rules Bad weather affecting voter turnout doesn’t affect importance of the state’s voters

Reasons to keep the Electoral College… Encourages stability of the two-party system Winning candidate’s death before Electoral College meets = Electoral College could vote for someone else Voter fraud in a state will stay in that state and not affect outcome of the whole country – a recount would only take place in that state, not the whole country

Think: Reasons to get rid of the Electoral College…

Reasons to get rid of the Electoral College… Popular national vote irrelevant – can win popular vote and lose election (has happened 3 times) Focus of election becomes large “swing” states – possible to win with 11 large states while ignoring the rest of the country Discourages participation – voting – in states that have an entrenched political party

Reasons to get rid of the Electoral College… Allows states to disenfranchise people (no voting rights for some people, such as felons) without losing the state’s power in the election – they get to keep the same number of electoral votes no matter how many people they keep from voting Favors smaller states Disadvantage for Third Parties… winner-take-all tends to mean that Third Parties take no electoral votes

What do you think?