1. Electoral College Vestige of the past Curse of the present? Obstacle to democracy in the future?

2. Vestige of the past--Historical Context

3. Some options they considered... Parliamentary System State Legislatures Select Direct democracy No Please!

4. Second Attempt spurred by 1800 Presidential Election

5. 12 th Amendment Adopted 1804

6. Electoral College Evolved

7. How it works

8. Curse of the present? Now swing states real power brokers and others are largely ignored. In a typical year, swing states include Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida. 2008 was a bit different due to changing demographics and voter turnout. New swing states included Montana, Virginia, and North Carolina.

9. Power shifts…

10. What ’ s wrong with this picture? 1. Possibility of a electoral college President but not popular vote president (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000) 2. "faithless electors" no federal law requires electors to vote the way they are supposed to. Some states have laws that punish faithless electors, but not all. States in red have laws that punish faithless electors.

11. Faithless electors historically

12. More problems… Rocky Anderson Justice Party Jill Stein Green Party Gary Johnson Libertarian Party Constitution Party Virgil Goode