The Electoral College

1
The Electoral College

• An Outdated System or A Perfect Fit for The
  Presidential Election

2
The Beginnings of the Electoral College

• The founders original intent for the selection
  of the president.
• Populist representation or Federalist
  representation
• The uneducated and uninformed masses
• Alexander Hamilton and Federalist 68

3
Constitutional Framework

• Article II, against Popular Sovereignty
• Electoral College independent of any majority
• Article IV Section 4
• Guarantees a Republican Form of Government

4
Selection of the Electors

• Electors were to be selected by state
  legislatures
• States were given authority on selection method
• Appointment by people
• Appointment by legislature
• Or a combination of both

5
Key Decisions

• Supreme Court decisions affecting the Electoral
  College
• McPherson v. Blacker (1892) challenged method of
  selection for electors.
• Ruled that states still had authority over
  selection method
• Ray v. Blair
• Also dealt with appointment methods

6
Close Early Elections

• 1800- Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
• Had to be referred to the House
• House was deadlocked
• Led to 12th Amendment
• 1824- Multiple Legit Candidates
• Deadlocked electoral college
• No one candidate gained a majority
• Showed bias within electoral college

7
Other Key Elections

• 1876- Hayes vs. Tilden
• 1st time the validity of votes had to be
  determined
• Led to Electoral Count Act of 1887
• Elections of 1948, 1988, 1992
• Showed the role of legit third party candidates
• Showed that third party candidates had power to
  change electoral outcomes

8
The Election of 2000

• Bush vs. Gore
• Most recent election in which electoral votes
  didnt follow popular vote
• Controversy over ballots in Florida prolonged the
  election
• Butterfly Ballots, Supreme Court rulings
• Bush won electoral vote 271-267
• Gore won popular vote by 540,000

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Bias from the Electoral College

• Bias against competition
• Battle Ground states
• Bias against small or non-competitive states
• Vote Power
• Larger in states with larger representation
• Over-representation for smaller states
• Guaranteed three electoral votes

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More Bias with the Electoral College

• Bias against small party candidates
• Third parties have little to no chance
• Little funding to go national with campaign and
  win electoral votes
• Bias against ethnic and racial groups
• African-Americans
• Hispanics and other minorities

12
Direct Election vs. The Electoral College

• The Electoral College
• Relatively effective
• System has already been fine-tuned
• Direct Election
• Goes against intent of founders
• Could be costly to implement
• Difficulty creating national system of popular
  election

13
Conclusion

• Is the Electoral College right for today?
• Typically represents the popular vote
• Few examples of shortcomings
• Wrong Winner situations
• Under or over representation
• Relatively Effective
• Keeps with the founders original intentions of
  government by representation