1. Americans have never voted for president

2. Electoral College – We vote for Electors – System is a compromise between the Founders Some feared an election based on popularity was too dangerous Some feared letting Congress elect the president EC doesn’t allow a few large states to influence every presidential election – Candidates must pay attention to all regions of the country

3. Electoral College Electors – A vote for a presidential candidate is actually a vote for an Elector – People picked from a political party – Formula Number of Reps plus number of Senators Michigan: 2 Senators + 14 Representatives = 16 Electors California: 2 Senators + 53 Representatives = 55 Electors

4. Electoral College The Process – November Presidential election first Tuesday after the first Monday in every four years – December Monday following the second Wednesday Electors meet in their state capitals and vote for president and V.P. – January (6 th ) President of the Senate (the V.P. of the U.S.) opens and reads the votes in front of Joint Session of Congress (20 th ) at noon the candidate with most Electoral College votes is sworn in as President

5. Electoral College 538 Total Electoral College votes 270 needed to win the presidency Winner Take All System – All Electors go to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state Congressional District Method – Electoral votes can be proportioned – 2 states: Maine and Nebraska

6. Electoral College A presidential candidate can win the popular vote (most votes), but lose the election – Has happened 4 times in U.S. history Most recent: 2000 G.W. Bush and Al Gore Popular vote totals – Gore: 50,992,335 – Bush: 50,455,156 Gore has 500,000 + more votes, but Bush reached the 270 Electoral College mark by winning Florida

7. Electoral College Who won this election? (red = Republican; blue = Democrat)

8. Electoral College Argument for – it keeps potential political alliances from occurring between geographic regions Ex: southern California and the eastern megalopolis – Multiple metropolitan regions close together

9. Electoral College Argument for: – Candidates cannot ignore certain segments of the country, as small states can influence the outcome of an election – Ex: (don’t have to write down) Candidate “B” has 264 EC votes Needs 6 more to win the presidency Wyoming (3) and North Dakota (3) are added – 264 +6 = 270 = President of the United States

10. Electoral College Arguments against: – Electing a candidate who did not receive the most votes – Less people will vote if they think they do not directly elect the president – What if an Elector votes against the people’s wishes?