2000 Presidential Election Popular Vote

◦ Al Gore (D) 51,003,926 (48.38%)◦ George W. Bush (R) 50,460,110 (47.87%)

Electoral Vote◦ George W. Bush (R) 271 (50.4%)◦ Al Gore (D) 266 (49.4%)

(*1 “faithless elector”) Lost the Popular Vote But Won

Anyway…◦ 2000 (Bush), 1888 (Harrison), 1876 (Hayes), 1824

(Adams)

The Electoral CollegeThe 538 People Who Actually Elect the

President…Yeah, seriously.

Electors: Each state has electors equal to number of senators and number of representatives. These electors are chosen by the Republican and Democratic parties of each state.◦ Pennsylvania: 2 senators + 18 reps. = 20 electors◦ Most Electoral Votes: California (55)◦ Least Electoral Votes: all states with 3 (ND, DE, etc.)

A presidential candidate must win a majority of the 538 electoral votes, which is 270.

This system is in the Constitution. WHY?◦ Founders didn’t trust the regular people to elect the

President.◦ It was 1789 (no internet, etc.): could regular people

really make an informed decision?◦ Federalism: give small states a voice.

How It Works

Electoral Votes after the2010 Census

2008 Pennsylvania:Obama: 53%McCain: 46%

ALL of Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes went to OBAMA.

For Example…

Isn’t this a democracy? ◦ Winning the popular vote does not ensure

winning the electoral vote (and thus the presidency). (4 times)

◦ If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, then the House of Representatives chooses the President from the top 2 candidates. (2 times)

The “Faithless Elector”? (Are you serious?)◦ Electors do NOT have to follow the popular vote

of their state. (10+ times)

Flaws/Defects

Keep the Electoral College, BUT…◦The District Plan: elector from each congressional district must follow the popular vote of the district.

◦The National Plan: states would force their electors to vote for the winner of the NATIONAL popular vote.

Direct Popular Election: voters directly elect the president. (DUH?!)◦This would require a constitutional

amendment to get rid of the Electoral College.

Possible Alternatives

Republicans inthe state arepushing for thistype of plan (instead of thewinner-take-allsystem we currently have):

A Look at theDistrict Plan