1. American Government and Organization
PS1301
Monday, 6 October

2. Electoral Rules
Plurality vs. Majority
The Electoral College

3. Electing the President
Congress chooses the president
State legislatures choose the president
President elected by popular vote
Electoral College

4. How it works
Each state was allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of U.S. Representatives (which changes)
The manner of choosing the electors was left to the individual state legislators. By 1836 all states (except for South Carolina) choose electors by popular vote (plurality rules).
The person with a majority of electoral votes is elected president
In the event that no candidate wins a majority, the U.S. House of Representatives would choose from the top five contenders. Each state could cast only one vote. An absolute majority is required

5. Historical Curiosities
1800 Electors gave both Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr an equal number of votes. The tie was settled by the U.S. House.
Prompted the 12th Amendment which requires separate vote for president and vice president (rather than two votes for president with the runner up as the vice president)
1824. No candidate receives a majority. House decides John Quincy Adams despite the fact that Andrew Jackson had obtained more electoral votes.
1888 Benjamin Harrison defeats Grover Cleveland who received more votes

6. Past Elections
Link to maps of electoral college results ( )

7. 2000 Presidential Election

8. The Florida Disaster Florida recount (link to Univ. of Chicago study)
The punch card voting system
Design of the palm beach ballot
Bush v. Gore

9. The Butterfly Ballot

10. Reforming the Electoral College
Winner take all (by Congressional District)
Proportional Allocation of Electors by State

11. Direct Election of the President
Runoff Elections
Alternative Vote/Preference Voting (AV as its known in Australia).
System is used to elect that nation’s House of Representatives from single member districts.
Voters rank their first most preferred candidate by marking a “1” their second most favored candidate with a “2” etc…
Candidate with the fewest first choices is eliminated and the ballots for those people who voted for him are examined to see whom they placed second.