1. Warm-up What do the following four men all have in common?
Andrew Jackson
Samuel Tilden
Grover Cleveland
Al Gore

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

3. 1824 Popular Vote Andrew Jackson 43% John Q. Adams 30.5%
Electoral Vote
Jackson votes
Adams votes
Winner: Adams

4. 1876 Popular Vote Samuel Tilden 51% R. B. Hayes 48% Electoral College
Winner: Hayes

5. 1888 Popular Vote Grover Cleveland 48.5 % Benjamin Harrison 47.8 %
Electoral College
Cleveland 168
Harrison
Winner: Harrison

6. 2000 Popular Vote Albert Gore 48.7% George W. Bush 48.5%
Electoral College
Gore
Bush
Winner: Bush

7. The Electoral College

8. Objectives What is the function of the Electoral College?
What are the pros and cons of the Electoral College?

9. Standards GC.31 Analyze the function of the Electoral College.

10. 1. What is the Electoral College?
We do not elect directly our President.
Instead, we select electors.
These electors form what is called the Electoral College and are the people who officially elect the President.

11. 2. Why was the Electoral College created?
Framers were concerned that people were not knowledgeable enough to select a President
To give the states a voice in choosing the President

12. 3. How is the number of electors for each State determined?
Each state is represented according to their total number of members of Congress
100 senators representatives
+ 3 electoral votes for Washington, DC
= 538 electors

13. 4. How many electors does Tennessee have?
2 senators + 9 representatives = 11 electoral votes

16. 5. How many votes a presidential candidate needs from the Electoral College in order to become President?
at least 270 electoral votes
Casts votes in December

17. 6. How does each State determine how many electoral votes each candidate will get?
Individual votes count only in the state where they are cast
When all states have voted, the candidate with the most votes in each state gets all the electoral votes of that state
 winner-take all system!
Example: if a person gets 50.1% of the popular vote (in a two man race), he get 100% of the electoral votes in that State.

18. 7. Who are electors? How are they chosen?
They are chosen by the political parties in each state
They usually respect the popular vote in their State

19. 8. What happens when no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes?
House of Representative elects the President
Senate elects the Vice-President.
This has not happened since 1824.

20. 9. What are the PROS of the Electoral College?
Contributes to national unity
Maintains a federal system - winning individual States is important
Preserves the two-party system

21. 10. What are the CONS of the Electoral College?
Encourages low voter turnout
Person with most popular votes may not win
Diminishes minor party influence

22. Review What is the Electoral College?
How many electors does Tennessee have?
How many votes a presidential candidate needs from the Electoral College in order to become President?
How does each State determine how many electoral votes each candidate will get?

23. Map Activity Look at the map on the back of your handout.
Answer the following question: “If you were running for President with limited money and could only focus on a few states, where would you center your campaign?”
List the states, in order, that you would need to win the necessary 270 Electoral College votes.

24. Resources
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25. Conclusion
Do you think the Electoral College is a fair and democratic process? Why or why not?
Do you believe the Electoral College should be abolished? Why or why not?
Write at least 5 sentences

26. X – do not do! Research Assignment
Research a proposed reform to the Electoral College that was never ratified.
Write a short essay describing what the reform was, when it was proposed, and why it failed.
Make sure to include your own opinion about the proposed reform and whether or not you would support it.