1. The U.S. Electoral College

2. What do the following four men all have in common?
A. Andrew Jackson
B. Samuel Tilden
C. Grover Cleveland
D. Al Gore

3. The Answer
They all won the popular vote in a Presidential election but did not become President.

4. 1824 Popular Vote Andrew Jackson 43% John Q. Adams 30.5%
Electoral Vote
Jackson 99 votes
Adams
* Adams elected by House of Representatives when Jackson did not receive a majority of the Electoral votes

5. 1876 Popular Vote Samuel Tilden 51% R. B. Hayes 48% Electoral College
Winner: Hayes

6. 1888 Popular Vote Grover Cleveland 48.5 % Benjamin Harrison 47.8 %
Electoral College
Cleveland
Harrison
Winner: Harrison

7. 2000 Popular Vote Albert Gore 48.7% George W. Bush 48.5%
Electoral College
Gore
Bush
Winner: Bush

8. Why?
Because we do not pick our President by direct ballot. Technically, we only select electors. These electors form what is called the Electoral College and are the people who officially elect the President.

9. Why was it Created?
People (then) were not knowledgeable enough to select a President.(poor communications)
This was a check that gave the states a voice in choosing the President
To maintain regional balance

10. What are the drawbacks to the Electoral College?
Encourages low voter turnout
Diminishes third party influence
Person with most popular votes may not win
Leads to tactical, insincere voting
If there is no majority winner in the Electoral College, the election goes to the H.o. R and there is a loss of separation of powers

11. Why low voter turnout?
The Electoral College is a winner take all system of deciding who receives a states electoral votes. Consequently, if a person gets 50.1% of the popular vote (in a two man race), he get 100% of the electoral votes. Therefore, many people feel that their vote does not matter and choose to not vote.

12. Third Parties
The Electoral College discourages 3rd parties because a candidate must have a broad based, national platform to have a chance to gain the highest office. Rarely are 3rd parties financially and politically able to do this.

13. Tactical Voting
Voters often resort to tactical voting in Presidential elections because the person they truly support cannot win the all of the electoral votes. For instance, many people would have preferred Ralph Nader in the 2000 Presidential election but knew that he was not going to win. Instead, they often voted for Al Gore because he was the major candidate with the platform closest to Nader.

14. Activities

15. In-Class Activity
Given the electoral map on the previous slide, students will be asked the following hypothetical question; If you were running for President with limited money and could only focus on a few states, where would you focus your campaign?