ELECTORAL COLLEGE

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ELECTORAL COLLEGE
MR . Carpenter
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Origins of the Electoral College

• The electoral college was created by the founding
  fathers of the Constitution as part of a
  compromise between the election of a president by
  congress and election by a popular vote
• Many of the founders of the Constitution did not
  trust the people of the new country to make a
  sound and educated decision

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- When you vote for the President you are
actually voting for an ELECTOR to vote for you -
Each state has a pre-determined number of electors
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A states number of electors is the total number
of Senators and Representatives in the House
MISSOURI 2 senators 8 representatives Total
10 electors
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Who are the Electors?

• The electors are a popularly elected body chosen
  by the states and District of Columbia on the
  first Tuesday after the first Monday in
  November
• These are usually long-standing party activists

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Qualifications

• Article II section I clause II states No Senator
  or Representative or a person holding an office
  of trust or profit shall be appointed an
  elector.
• He or she cannot be someone who has "engaged in
  insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S.

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There are a total of 538 electoral votes
(the District of Columbia is not a state but is
given 3 electoral votes)
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48 out of the 50 states have a winner takes all
method The winner of these states receives ALL
electoral college votes for the state!
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2 states are different and can divide up their
votes based on congressional district - Nebraska
and Maine
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A candidate must have 270 electoral votes to win
the Presidential election
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If no single candidate gets the required 270
electoral votes then the House of Representatives
votes to decide the President
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2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
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Total Votes in 2000 Election Bush 50,461,092
total votes (47.9) 271 Electoral
Votes Gore 50,994,086 total votes (48.4)
266 Electoral Votes Nader 2,882,728 total
votes (2.7) 0 Electoral College Votes
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Bush v. Gore

• Bush v. Gore- The differing ways in which various
  counties were recounting votes violated the 14th
  Amendments Equal Protection Clause.
• Supreme Court rules 5-4 decision to end recounts,
  ultimately giving Bush a 537-vote lead in Florida
  and Floridas 25 electoral votes. Decision still
  remains highly controversial.

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1984 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
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Critical Thinking

• What are some of the potential problems with the
  current system of electing a president?
• What, if anything, should be done to change this
  process?

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Concerns with this system

• Because certain states have such a large
  population and thus more electoral votes, there
  becomes a great disparity between the political
  candidates campaigning in certain states.
• Candidates have a tendency to concentrate their
  efforts on big states more than small states
  (Fly Over States)

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Faithless Electors

• Faithless electors are those for one reason or
  another do not vote for their partys designated
  candidate
• There have been 157 faithless electors -people
  who have voted for someone outside of the partys
  recommendation.
• In 1836, 23 electors from Virginia acted together
  to change their vote

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Minority Vote

• It is not necessary to earn a majority of votes
  in order to win the election.
• In fact several presidents have been elected
  without a majority of votes in the November
  election.
• In 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000 this occurred

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Only necessary to win big states

• In 2000 it was possible to win just 11 states and
  become President.
• In 2000 California 55, Texas 34, New York 31,
  Florida 27, Illinois 27, Pennsylvania 21, Ohio
  20, Michigan 17, Georgia 15, New Jersey 15, North
  Carolina 15
• 271 electoral votes President of the United
  States

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Does My Vote Count?
Yes, your vote counts, but every vote does count,
it just counts in a more complicated way.
  Population Electoral votes Residents per elector Weight of vote
California 33,871,648 54 627,253 0.83
North Carolina 8,049,313 14 574,951 0.91
Alaska 626,932 3 208,977 2.50
United States 281,421,906 538 523,089 1.00
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Questions?