Electoral College

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Electoral College
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Video

• Electing the President in Plain English
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vok_VQ8I7g6I
• Khan Academy
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?voTbvYGH_Hiw
• Electoral College Video
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v4Ijzd3HBhfYfeature
  related

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Electoral College Videos

• U.S Elections How the Electoral College System
  works
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v3qPDFZGXSew
• Swing States in US elections
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?voFmIbrPWJ1g
• Civics in a Minute Video
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vA3LCZWDr8Fo
• CNN Explains Electoral College
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vwDwIFBqc7KM

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History of Electoral College

• In 1787, Founding Fathers wanted elite men in
  society to run the country.
• Were afraid that Congress would be bribed or
  influenced by candidates, and did not trust them,
  that is why Constitution puts strict limits on
  Congress.
• Were afraid that direct popular vote by ignorant,
  uneducated, uninformed masses could lead to
  people voting in the wrong person or could elect
  a dictator. Also filter passion and prejudices
  of the masses

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History cont.

• The Fathers compromised to create the Electoral
  College, which also helped the smaller states in
  allowing them to have say in a national election
  (Federalism).
• Also, there was only 13 states and around 4
  million people, so it was difficult to count all
  the votes and get information and communication
  so an electoral college was not a bad alternative
  for that time.

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What is the Electoral College

• System that elects our President and
  Vice-President
• President is not elected by direct popular vote.
  (4 people have won popular vote but not
  presidency)
• Electors are granted from each state based on the
  number of House of Representative members plus
  Senators

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Electoral College Cont.

• D.C. also gets 3 votes (22nd amendment)
• Votes are added up on election day and the
  candidate receiving the most popular votes (does
  not have to be majority) wins all the electors
  from that state. Winner-take-all system (Except
  for Maine and Nebraska)

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Electoral Votes

• Candidate that wins the Presidency must win a
  majority 270 out of 538 possible votes.
• If not a majority, election determined by
  majority vote in the House, with one vote per
  state. Vice-President is elected in senate with
  each senator getting one vote.
• A candidate could win the 11 most populous
  states, lose the other 39, and still win enough
  electoral votes to win the Presidency

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States and Electoral College

• State legislatures select their own electors,
  based on their own rules, helping to guarantee
  them a role in the national election.
• Some states will most always vote a certain way
  California, New York, Texas
• However, some states are swing/battleground
  states which mean that they are up for grab and
  any candidate could win. Most candidates will
  spend a majority of their time in these states
  trying to win their votes.

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Electors

• Delegates have no other lawmaking powers, so they
  could not be bribed or influenced
• Electors meet on the First Monday after the
  second Wednesday in December to vote. They vote
  at their state capitals. Votes are then counted
  before a joint session of congress on January
  6th.

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Alexander HamiltonFederalist paper 68

• They have not made the appointment of the
  President to depend on any preexisting bodies of
  men who might be tampered with beforehand to
  prostitute their votes.

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Arguments for/against Electoral College

• Arguments For

• Arguments against

1. Electoral College contributes to political
   stability in the United States by encouraging
   only a two-party system
2. Increases the Power of the States
3. Allows a buffer from government agency choosing
   and from mass of public voting
4. Popular vote may lead to recounts or runoffs

1. Hinders the numbers of parties that are able to
   compete in elections
2. Take states for granted when states consistently
   voter for one party
3. Winner-take-all nature of state elections renders
   some votes essentially meaningless
4. Depresses voter turnout because voter turnout is
   irrelevant to the number of electoral votes.
5. Rogue Electors are always possible.

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Changing the Electoral College

1. Direct Popular Vote/Majority Vote- More
   candidates will run, making it harder to win a
   majority. This would mean runoff elections, more
   time, confusion, money, and wheeling and dealing
   from candidates who won for endorsements of the
   candidates who lost

1. Proportional Representation/Parliamentary System-
   When the people vote for legislatures, and the
   party who wins the most seats in the legislature
   get to install a President (Prime Minister).
   Encourages 3rd parties but not direct popular
   vote. Prime Minister President may be removed at
   anytime by Legislature without consent of
   constituents.

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Unit 5, Chapter 17Elections and Voting

• Section 1 Election Campaign
• Mr. Young
• American Government

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Essential Question

• What are the basis elements of a presidential
  campaign?
• Why and what were the purposes of the Federal
  Election Campaign Acts being passed?

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I CAN

1. Explain the Electoral College System
2. Analyze the importance of campaign managers and
   candidates images
3. Evaluate how candidates finance their campaigns
   and how they can affect the outcomes of elections

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US Elections How do they work

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vuRu_JcarCDY
• Youtube Video (426 min)

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Voting and You Video

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v6KBo7vzrHGY
• Stop at 212

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Electing the President

• Most election laws are passed at the state level
  and happen at polling places
• President is elected every Tuesday after the
  first Monday, every 4 years in even numbered
  years in November

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Why Elections on Tuesday?

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?valHNt_p1D1w
• Civics in a Minute

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Electoral Votes and the State

• To be elected President, a candidate must win 270
  of the 538 available electoral votes
• Electoral College votes number of
  Representatives plus the number of Senators
• Candidate who usually wins the greatest number of
  popular votes usually wins the presidency
• Emphasizes larger states, win 11 largest states
  and that person gets the necessary 270 votes

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Win Popular vote, not Presidency

• In prior elections, four U.S candidate for
  President won the popular vote but lost the
  presidency Andrew Jackson won the popular vote
  but lost the election to John Quincy Adams in
  1824 Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote but
  lost the election to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876
  Grover Cleveland won the popular vote but lost
  the election to Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and Al
  Gore won the popular vote but lost the election
  to George W. Bush in 2000

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Top 5 Biggest Electoral States

• California- 55 (last 6 elections voted Dem)
• Texas- 38 gained 4(voted Rep 10/11 elections)
• New York- 29 loses 2 (voted dem in last 7
  elections)
• Florida- 29 gain 2 (Voted Rep in 72, 80-92,
  00-04 Dem in 76, 96, 08, 12)
• Pennsylvania- 21 loses 1 (Voted Dem last 6
  elections)

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Kentucky and Electoral College

• Kentucky has 8 electoral votes
• Since the 1950s, Kentucky has been reliably
  Republican, although its voters have been willing
  to vote Democratic when a southern governor has
  run the state voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976
  and for Bill Clinton in both 1992 and 1996. In
  2008, John McCain defeated Barack Obama 57 to
  41, Romney defeats Obama 60 to 38.

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Campaign Strategy

• Candidates must appeal to a broad variety of
  voters to win as many states as possible
• Campaign managers, who is responsible for overall
  strategy and planning, usually lead the
  presidential campaign during elections

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Television

• TV is the most important communication tool for a
  presidential candidate, and also the most costly
  item
• Use TV to build up candidates image, metal
  picture to audience, and package them to the
  voters

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Internet and Campaign

• Internet is a good tool for finding information
  on a candidate
• Almost every candidate has a website, where you
  can find how they stand on issues, and where you
  can also contribute

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Money and the Election

• First two Presidents to really start the spedning
  spree was Richard Nixon and George McGovern
  raised 91 million dollars on the general
  presidential election, more than triple what had
  previously been spent
• 2004, presidential and congressional candidates
  spent total of 3.9 billion
• 2008, Presidential candidates spent 6 billion

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Congressional Money Spending

• Jon Corzine spent 65 million of his own money on
  a New Jersey Senate seat

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Congressional Spending

• Average Senate seat is 7.2 million dollars
• Average House seat is more than 1 million
  dollars.
• Estimated that between ½ to 2/3 of Senators are
  millionaires (68 in 2008)
• In 2008 average net worth of US Senators was
  almost 14 million
• In 2008 average net worth of Representatives was
  4.6 million dollars (240 in 2008)
• Next is Top 25 Wealthiest Senators and
  Representatives in 2008

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Money Raised for 2012 Election
Barack Obama 99,597,681   Mr. Obama expanded his
fundraising lead, ending September with more cash
on hand than the entire Republican field. Mitt
Romney 32,605,827 1st of 9 Republican
Candidates as of September 30, 2011 Mr. Romney
has spent nearly twice as much as money as any
other Republican challenger.
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Regulating Campaign Financing

• Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971-
  require public disclosure of each candidates
  spending, provide federal funding for
  presidential elections, prohibit labor unions and
  business organizations from making direct
  contributions, and limit how much each individual
  and groups can contribute

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Federal Election Commission

• Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC)-
  independent agency in executive branch to
  administer federal election laws
• Has limited individual contributions to
  candidates, but unconstitutional to limit overall
  total cost of campaign

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Public Funding

• Presidential Election Campaign Fund- primary
  campaigns and general elections but must agree to
  limit their total campaign spending and private
  donations
• 76-04, all major parties accepted this, except
  GWB in 00, it was 81.4 million in 08
• 3rd parties may receive funding if they got 5 of
  pop vote in former election

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Private Funding

• Bulk of campaign funding comes from the private
  sector
• Limits direct contribution for individual at
  2,500, may contribute 5,000 to PAC
• Political Action Committees (PAC)- an
  organization formed by interest groups to collect
  money and provide financial support for political
  candidates direct contribution is 5,000 to the
  candidate and 15,000 to the national party
• PACs contribute more than 5 times as much money
  to incumbents as to their challengers

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Money and Politics

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v3d-bYU2cZ48
• 314 minutes

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2008 Election and PACs

• In the 2008 elections, the top 9 PACs by money
  spent by themselves, their affiliates and
  subsidiaries were as follows
• IBEW PAC 3,344,650
• ATT Federal PAC 3,108,200
• American Bankers Association (BANK PAC)
  2,918,140
• National Beer Wholesalers Association PAC
  2,869,000
• Dealers Election Action Committee of the National
  Automobile Dealers Association 2,860,000
• International Association of Fire Fighters
  2,734,900
• International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
  Political Education Committee 2,704,067
• American Association for Justice PAC 2,700,500
• Laborers International Union of North America
  (LIUNA) PAC 2,555,350

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Private Funding cont.

• Issue advocacy advertising- urges voters to
  support a particular issue, such as gun control
  or health care
• Will often contain candidates name or image, but
  will not say vote for or against a candidate

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Issue Advocacy Ads

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vqulpucVacM8
• Stephen Colbert
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vK90Zpjvdlko
• Congressional Issue Ad

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McCain-Feingold Bill

• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)- targeted
  the use issue advocacy ads and soft-money
  donations to national political parties
• Soft money- donations given directly to political
  parties by PAC or individuals for general
  purposes, such as voter registration drives,
  party mailings, and political advertisements

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BCRA cont.

• Banned all soft-money donations to political
  parties, but raised individual contributions
• Prohibited unions, corporations, and nonprofit
  groups from running ads aimed at candidates
  within 30 days of primary election and 60 days of
  general

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Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commision
(2010)

• Overturned BCRA by saying that it was a violation
  of Freedom of speech for placing limits on
  independent spending for political purposes by
  corporations and unions.
• Also allowed corporations to show ads mentioning
  a candidate within 60 days of general and 30 days
  of primary.

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Citizens United Videos

• Citizens United Video
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vpMvG54GjtRI
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vDmQ37zm7-uU
• Civics in a Minute Super PACS

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Campaign Law and Internet

• Web site operators must identify themselves
  online, even if they are acting as individual
  citizens
• Web sites operating independently of official
  campaigns must register with FEC if they spend
  250 or more on the site