1. Amendment 11 – Authority of Federal Courts Restricted Amendment 12 – Election of the President and Vice President Amendment 13 – Slavery Outlawed Amendment 14 – Rights of Citizenship Amendment 15 – Voting Rights for All Races Amendment 16 – Federal Income Taxes Amendment 17 – Election of Senators by Popular Vote Amendment 18 – Liquor Outlawed Amendment 19 – Voting Rights for Men and Women Amendment 20 – Terms of the President and Congress; Replacing the President Amendment 21 – Control of Liquor Returned to the States Amendment 22 – Presidents Limited to Two Terms Amendment 24 – Voting Rights Protected from Taxes Amendment 23 – Presidential Electors for the District of Columbia Amendment 25 – Replacing the President and Vice President Amendment 26 – Voting Rights for All Citizens Eighteen or Older Amendment 27 – Changes in Salaries of Senators and Representatives

2. Political Science Module Developed by PQE
The Electoral College
10/28/2019
Political Science Module Developed by PQE

3. Historical Background
The framers of the Constitution disagreed on how to elect a president
Congressional selection
direct popular election.
The electoral college was a compromise
combining features of both approaches.
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019

4. The Electoral College and Federalism
The electoral college also reflects the federal nature of the Constitution
Ensures that the states have a role in selecting the president.
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019

5. State Electoral Votes
Each state is entitled to as many electoral votes as the sum of its representation
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. House of Senate
Ohio: 18 House members plus 2 senators = 20 electoral votes
Total:
435 House members
100 senators
3 electors for the District of Columbia
= 538 electoral votes
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019

6. Who are the Electors?
Individuals selected in each state to officially cast that state’s electoral votes.
Ohio selects 20 electors to cast the state’s 20 electoral votes.
Framers anticipated that electors would be state leaders who would exercise good judgment.
Today, party leaders select electors who are typically long-time party activists.
Electors almost always vote for their party’s candidates.
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019

7. Delegate Votes Divided
Each state determines the manner of selection
All but two states use a winner-take-all delegates statewide election system
Nebraska
Maine
Everyone else
If Candidate A gets the most votes in a state, Candidate A gets the all of the delegates.
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019

8. Voters and Electors Therefore,
An Ohioan who votes for Obama is really voting for a elector pledged to cast the state’s electoral votes for Obama.
Remember:
In 2000, Bush won all of Florida’s 25 electoral votes because the final official vote tally showed him ahead of Gore by about 600 votes.
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019

9. The Real Election In December of election year In January
The electors gather in their respective state capitols to cast ballots for president and vice president.
In January
Congress comes into session
They open the ballots received from each state
They announce the official outcome.
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019

10. What if no one receives a majority?
To win, a candidate needs a majority,
270 electoral votes.
If no candidate has a majority
the House of Representatives selects the president from among the three presidential candidates with the most electoral votes.
If this happens, each state has one vote.
Happened only once!
1824 Congress chose John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay.
The Senate selects the vice president from the top two vice- presidential candidates.
10/28/2019

11. Popular Vote v. the Electoral Vote
In a close race, the popular vote winner may not win the electoral college.
One candidate may win states by lopsided margins while the other wins states by narrow margins.
Electoral vote winners who lost the popular vote
Bush over Gore in 2000
Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland in 1888
Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden in 1876
Political Science Module Developed by PQE
10/28/2019