1. Why was it created and how does it work?
The Electoral College
Why was it created and how does it work?

2. What is the Electoral College?
Watch short video overview: The Electoral College in plain English

3. Who elects the President in the U.S.?
In the U.S., voters don’t directly elect the President
Electors officially choose the president
States determine who the electors are
The Founders wanted remove selection of the President from the people…
Why?

4. Activity: Electoral College FAQ’s
Find a partner
Research ONE of the questions assigned by the teacher #1-6)
Prepare a written response
Create a poster that lists the key information needed to answer the question
Poster should read like a chart
Be accurate, clear and concise

5. Why not direct election by the people?
They feared the majority
Information about candidates outside their state was limited; difficult to find out about a good leader from another region
This would prevent anyone from gaining a majority of votes OR
Could make it so the largest, most populous states would always decide the presidency

6. 1. Why not Congress or state legislatures choose the President?
Congress: Didn’t want Congress and the Federal government to have more/too much power;
Wanted a separation of branches/powers
State Legislatures: States would each pick their local favorites and no candidate would win a majority of votes

7. 2. How many electors?
(a) Each state gets the number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives in the House (Washington D.C. gets 3)
In Oregon, it’s 7 (2 + 5 House members)
(b) 538 is the total ( for D.C.)
(c) An absolute majority or 270 / 538 is the number required to win office
(d) If no one gets 270 or more votes, the race goes to the House of Representatives to choose the president from the top three contenders.

8. 3. Which state is most over represented
3. Which state is most over represented? Which is most under represented?
Every state is guaranteed THREE electoral votes
Proportionately, this favors states with smaller populations because larger states are much larger
Most overrepresented: Wyoming (least populous)
Most underrepresented: California

9. 4. Who are the electors in the Electoral College? How are they chosen?
Electors are chosen by each state according to each state’s laws
They are generally political insiders and are NOT elected by the voters

10. 5. Winner take all
(a) The candidate who wins the most popular votes in each state, wins all of the state’s electoral votes.
(b) Maine and Nebraska split the state’s electoral votes by district so it is possible to split electoral votes by candidate depending on his/her performance in each of the state’s districts

11. 6. Which states are most important in winning the Electoral College?
The most populous states have the most electoral votes
Swing states or battleground states are most important for candidates to win; these states are fairly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans
Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada…others

12. 7. How can winner of the popular vote lose the election?
In 2000, Gore won the popular vote nationwide but lost in the Electoral College
In a close election, the Electoral College favors the candidate who wins more states because rural/small states have proportionately more say than large states.
Gore won big in the most populous states but won fewer total states.
Bush won more states overall and most all of the small/rural states.

13. 8. Weaknesses
The winner of the popular election can lose in the electoral college (Four times)
No laws require an elector to vote as a reflection of his/her state’s popular vote
If no candidate receives an absolute majority of electoral votes (270), the race is sent to the House of Representatives (has happened twice)
Small states are overrepresented

14. 8. Strengths
Requires a regional distribution of popular support to be elected president
Contributes to political stability by reinforcing a two-party system and determining a winner quickly in a close election
Maintains a federal system of government and representation

15. 9. Reforms: Maine-Nebraska Method
Votes would be calculated by congressional district NOT statewide
Electoral votes would go to the winner in each district so a split of votes is possible
The winner of the state’s popular vote would receive the two additional electoral votes (the at-large Senator votes)
Would reflect popular vote more closely

16. 9. Reforms: Proportional
Each candidate would receive the same share of the state’s electoral vote as s/he received of its popular vote
Would split up electoral votes to reflect popular vote more closely
Example: Oregon
Popular Vote: McCain 52% & Obama 47%
Electoral Vote: McCain=4 Obama=3

17. 9. Reforms: Drop Two
Each state’s electoral vote total is merely the # of Representatives in the House NOT the Senators (drop 2 electoral votes)
Is an attempt to end the advantage of small states in the system

18. 9. Reforms: Interstate Compact
States would replace Electoral College with direct popular election
Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey have joined
Need to get more states to join to make the switch; would need 270 votes to force other states to join