Electoral College

1
Electoral College

• Compromise solution at Constitutional Convention
• Founders didnt trust Congress (Parliamentary)
• Founders didnt trust the people (demos mob)
• Kept states involved in Presidential election
  (each state legislature decides how electors are
  chosen)
• Electors were intended to be independent thinkers

2
Electoral College

• Jefferson formed Republican party in 1796 to
  secure vote in Electoral College
• Number of electors equal to each states
  Representatives 2 Senators
• 12th Amendment required President Vice
  President to run as team
• 23rd Amendment allowed D.C. to be represented in
  Electoral College with 3 electors

3
Presidential Elections

• Popular vote is for electors, not president, even
  though Presidents name appears on ballot
• Popular vote may differ from vote in Electoral
  College (e.g. Jackson in 1820, Gore in 2000)
• 48 states send electors with commitment to
  popular will of statewide vote (general-ticket
  system)
• 2 states (Maine, Nebraska) commit electors to
  vote of Congressional district (similar to
  proportional representation--state may be split)

4
Electoral College

• Mathematical advantage either to very large or
  very small states
• Possible to win with 13 states
• CA(54), NY(33), TX(32), FL(25), PA(23), IL(22),
  OH(21), MI(18), VA(13), GA(13), IN(12), TN(11),
  WI(11), MO(11), WA(11)
• Possible to win with small states (e.g. George W.
  Bush) because small states are guaranteed 3
  electors
• In 2000, Gore won CA with 54 electors and 5.7
  million votes Bush won 13 of 19 smallest states
  with 54 electors but only 2.7 million votes

5
Electoral College

• Once party conventions meet, nominees have ten to
  fifteen weeks to persuade voters before November
  election
• Emphasis is on securing 270 Electoral College
  votes (triage strategy with limited time and
  money)
• Ignore states that one is guaranteed to win
• Ignore states one is guaranteed to lose
• Ignore states with few electors
• Focus on swing states and states with many
  electors
• Exceptions
• As race got close, Gore pressured Bush in Florida
• Bush pressured Gore in Tennessee and won

6
Electoral College

• Critics charge that Electoral College system
  violates political equality principle (one
  person, one vote)
• 30 million people in California control only 54
  electoral votes
• Several reform proposals but only direct popular
  election would address issue of political
  equality
• Electoral College proponents argue that system
  supports outcome in close popular elections when
  candidate receives only plurality of popular vote
  but clear majority in Electoral College (e.g.
  Clinton in 1992) -- enhances legitimacy
• It also gives power to states and idea of
  federalism

7
Political Campaigns

• Influenced by
• office being sought
• status of candidate (incumbent or challenger)
• party affiliation and district preference
• demographics, SES, character size of district
• financing independent resources

8
Political Campaigns continued

• Strategies directed at persuading voters based
  on
• party loyalty
• position on issues
• character or image of candidate
• Tactics focus on
• message content (negative, comparative)
• mode of delivery (debate, qa, etc.)

9
Federal Election Campaign Act

• Passed in 1971 but Nixon spent 65M in 1972 to
  get re-elected some went to jail
• If raise 5K (lt250 each) in 20 states, then
  government matches up to 1/2 spending limit
• Spending limit now
• 30.9M 6.2M 37.1M in primary
• 61.8M in main election (if Democrat or
  Republican less for minor parties that received
  less than 25 popular vote in previous election)
• party can receive 12.4M for conventions

10
Congressional Elections

• Influenced by Congressional district demographics
• state legislatures determine districts
• Supreme Court has changed position on racial
  redistricting
• Also influenced by
• first-past-the-post process
• voter preference for divided (weak) govt.
• Favors pluralist model of democracy

11
Congressional Elections

• Political equality and Congressional districts
• Constitution requires decennial census in order
  to calculate number of representatives
• In 1790, 105 representatives in House (1 for
  every 33,000 people--constitution stipulates no
  fewer than 30,000)
• In 1910, House of Representatives had 435 members
  (roughly 1 for every 200,000 people)
• In 1990, 1 House member represented 620,000
  people (if evenly divided--or 647,000 after 2000)

12
Congressional Elections

• Reapportionment redistributes 435 House members
  among 50 states
• Redistricting changes boundaries of Congressional
  districts within states
• Single member district system allows
  winner-take-all format (not multi-member
  districts)
• Since Baker v. Carr (1962), U.S. Supreme Court
  requires districts of relatively equal size to
  ensure equal protection of the law (14th
  Amendment) or one person, one vote

13
Congressional Elections

• State legislatures are responsible for
  redistricting
• Political gerrymandering is acceptable
• Racial gerrymandering has been overturned by the
  U.S. Supreme Court
• Uncomfortable resemblance to political
  apartheid..
• Obligation is to represent constituency as a
  whole, not members of one race
• Antithetical to system of representative democracy

14
Financing Congressional Campaigns

• U.S. Supreme Court overturned spending limits in
  Congressional campaigns in Buckley v. Valeo
  (1976)...money is speech
• Upheld limits on contributions--same as in
  presidential campaigns (1K individual, 5k PACs)
• Independent (nonaffiliated) PACs have no limit
• Finance rules favor incumbents, although some
  PACs hedge bets and contribute to both
• Rules decrease accountability competition, and
  limit access by individuals