1. Primaries vs. Caucuses Primary (or “direct primary”) Caucus
An election in which voters elect candidates to represent their political party in the general election
Caucus
A meeting of political party members to select candidates to represent their party in the general election

2. Objectives
Assess information on Electoral College and its impacts on the political process, and draw your own conclusions as to whether or not it should be reformed.
The General Election for President is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (“Election Day”)

3. Structure of Electoral College
# Electors per state = # Members of Congress per state (Reps + 2 Senators)
538 Electoral votes (270 needed for win)
Winner Takes All:
All electors in a state vote for winner
except Maine & Nebraska (proportional)
How many Electors does Pennsylvania have?
See the 2012 Electoral Map

4. Impact on the Political System?
Due to “Winner Takes All”….
Candidates focus on large, competitive (“swing”) states while ignoring other states
2008 Exception: Obama’s 50 state strategy
Discourages third parties who rarely get any EC votes
(1968 was an exception)
Candidate may win without popular mandate

5. CRITICISMS: How is it possible to win the popular vote but lose the election?
Winning candidate wins by big margins in several states, but has narrow losses in some large states
2000: Bush (271 / 47.9%) beats Gore (266 / 48.4%)
Gore had over 500,000 more popular votes, but lost by 537 votes in Florida
Election results since 1964
Florida Recount

6. CRITICISMS: How is it possible to win the popular vote but lose the election?
If no Presidential candidate wins a majority, House of Rep’s chooses Pres. from top 3 (Each state gets only one vote)
If no VP candidate wins a majority, Senate chooses VP from top 2
If Pres can’t assume power by Jan. 20, then VP, Speaker of House, PPT, Sec. State, etc.

7. Arguments: Keep the Electoral College
Promotes Federalism:
Must campaign by states / can’t win by focusing all efforts in one region
smaller states given a boost
Fosters Intentions of Founding Fathers
Constitutional Compromise b/w direct election of Pres. and State Legislators electing Pres.
Fosters Two-Party System
More stability / fewer 3rd party upsets

8. Arguments: Reform or Disband the Electoral College
Public Opinion (more people oppose it)
Doesn’t Reflect Popular Will
winning election with minority of popular vote
Votes of All Citizens Don’t Count Equally (Not “One Person, One Vote”
Smaller states “overrepresented”
E.g. 2004:
1 WY Elector = 165,101 votes
1 CA Elector = 617,000 votes
Lack of Legitimacy for officeholder
Current System is Unfair to 3rd Parties
Problem of “Faithless Electors”

9. Discussion
Agree on whether to keep, scrap, or reform the Electoral College
Discuss Pros & Cons of each
Come up with a Proposal and Arguments to convince the rest of the Class to Agree with you

10. Should the Electoral College be reformed? If yes, how? Informal Debate: * Make a list of pros and cons. * Choose a side. * Defend and Explain your position.