Tim Cantrell

1
The Electoral College
LCC

• Tim Cantrell

2
Creation

• The Electoral College was created at the
  Constitutional Convention by the Founding Fathers
• It was the last of many plans adopted in 1787 in
  Philadelphia

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Major Changes Through the Years

• 12th Amendment-1804-Separated the candidacy of
  the President and the Vice-President
• Popular election of electors in the 1820s 30s

4
The Mechanics

• The Presidential Election should be viewed as 51
  separate elections each with a winner take all
  system
• To win a candidate must get a majority of 538
  votes or 270
• Each state is represented in the EC according to
  their total number of members of Congress

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The Mechanics Contd

• Kentucky has 2 senators and 6 representatives.
  This means that Kentucky has 8 electoral votes
• California, the most populous state, has two
  senators and 52 representatives. This gives
  California 54 electoral votes
• Wyoming, the least populous state, has two
  senators and 1 representative. This gives
  Wyoming 3 electoral votes

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The Mechanics Contd

• The total electoral vote of 538 is based on 100
  senators, 435 representatives for the 50 states.
  The 23rd Amendment gave Washington, DC 3
  electoral votes
• The candidates compete in 50 states and DC for
  electoral votes and the winner must have at least
  270
• The Electoral College always works when there are
  only two candidates

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The Mechanics Contd

• If there are more than two candidates, the
  system might not work
• If the system does not work, the House elects the
  President and the Senate elects the
  Vice-President. This has not happened since 1824.

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What the Individual Vote Means

• Individual votes count only in the state where
  they are cast
• When all states have voted, the candidate with
  the most votes in each state gets all the
  electoral votes of that state
• In December, following the November Election, the
  winning electors in each state go to their
  respective state capitals and cast their votes
  and send them to Congress

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Electoral College Delegates

• The delegates are chosen by the political parties
  in each state
• Historically, the delegates have been 99.9 loyal
  to their party
• After the combined votes in 50 states and DC are
  counted by a joint session of Congress, the
  election is official

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Disadvantages of the Electoral College System

• Complex
• The person with the most votes may not win

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Advantages

• Preserves the federal system-winning individual
  states is important. Without the EC, state lines
  mean nothing
• Preserves the two party system
• Keeps our politics moderate-extreme parties have
  little chance of winning any state

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Advantages

• Protects minorities-they form the balance of
  power in most states and cant be ignored.
  Without the EC, one could develop a program just
  for the white urban middle class and win. (If you
  want David Duke, the KKK man from Louisiana as
  President or some other extremist, then abolish
  the Electoral College and go for all popular
  vote and you may get such a person.)

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Conclusion

• The system is not likely to change because of the
  difficulty of amending the Constitution
• Why fix it if it is not broken?