1. The Electoral College

2. What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College consists of 538 popularly elected representatives who formally select the President and Vice President of the United States

3. How does the Electoral College Work? On Election Day, people in the states vote for the President This is called the Popular Vote The candidate that receives the most popular votes in a state receives all of that state’s Electoral Votes

4. How many Electoral Votes does a state have? Number of U.S. Representatives Number of U.S. Senators Number of Electoral Votes

6. How many Electoral Votes does a candidate need to win? 270

7. Positive intentions of the Electoral College Because of little education and media communication in the 1700s, the Electoral College was established The Founding Fathers were fearful that an uneducated majority of people would choose leaders poorly The Electoral College is an example of Indirect Election

8. Cons to the Electoral College Certain states get all of the attention of the candidates because they may help the candidates achieve 270 votes People do not actually vote for the President; this is called Indirect Election A candidate can become President without winning the most Popular Votes 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000