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The Electoral College

Function: To elect the President of the United States

(POTUS)

Why do we have an Electoral College?

• The Founding Fathers (writers of the Constitution) did not believe the average American citizen was intelligent enough to make a wise choice for President.

• They decided that ELECTORS should have this power instead. They expected the electors to be well educated and vote for the most capable person.

But now we are smart!!!!

• We still use electors today. However, they are not supposed to vote for whomever they want. They are expected to vote for the candidate that is chosen by the majority of voters in their state by the popular vote.

• The electors usually carry out the wishes of the people in their state, but they do not have to do so.

How it works

• Each state has electors. The number of electors a state has depends on the number of congress people the state has.

• For example, California has 2 senators and 55 representatives, so it has 57 electors. Washington, D.C., gets 3 electors. There are 538 members of the electoral college.

In other words

• Each state has as many electors as the total number of its Senators and Representatives.

E = S + R

E = 2 + R

There are a total of 538 electoral college votes in the U.S. A candidate needs a MAJORITY of these to become President. That is 270 votes!!!!

If there is a tie

• The candidate who receives the most popular votes (people’s votes) in a state, RECEIVES ALL OF THE ELECTORAL VOTES OF THAT STATE.

• There is a possibility of a tie at 269 votes each, or a third candidate further splitting the vote. In the event of a tie, the House of Representatives votes for the presidency with each state getting one vote.

Historical Ties

• 1800 Election- Thomas Jefferson vs. Aaron Burr

• Outcome: Jefferson-President & Burr- VP

• 1824 Election- John Q. Adams vs. Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay

• Outcome: Adams-President

How does the electoral system encourage two party dominance?

• Candidates need broad appeal to get majority of electoral votes.

• Winner-take-all system of most states encourages two strong parties.

Effects of the Electoral College

• Candidates campaign less in states considered unwinnable due to the winner-take-all system of awarding electoral votes.

• Take New York for example….

Effects of the Electoral College

• 2008: 63% voted for Democrat Barack Obama

• 2004: 58% voted for Democrat John Kerry

• 2000: 60% voted for Democrat Al Gore

• In the 2008 campaign, Republican candidate John McCain barely campaigned in New York at all.

• WHY NOT?

Effects of the Electoral College

• Minority party members in a state may feel their votes don’t really count.

• in NY?

• Republicans

Effects of the Electoral College

• Candidates will focus on swing states (AKA toss-up or battleground states) where party membership is less lopsided.

• EX) Florida 2008: 51% to 48% for Obama

• These states more or less decide the election!

The winning loser possibility

• George W. Bush ran in 2000.

• Lost the popular vote to Al Gore.

• Won in the electoral college.

The Popular Vote

• Al Gore: 50,992,335 votes

• George W. Bush: 50,455,156 votes

2000 Electoral MapBush (R) 271 Gore (D) 266

Florida “Punch Ballot”

2000 Electoral MapBush (R) 271 Gore (D) 266

2000

2004

2008

2012

Gore was not a happy camper.

• But he accepted the Supreme Court’s decision and conceded the election to Bush.

What is your opinion?

• Should the electoral college be reformed, abolished or kept as is?

Our Class 2015