Consider this cartoon. Write a response in your Commonplace Book.

What were the options?

When the founding fathers wrote the Constitution, what options did they consider for electing the President? Direct election (popular vote) Selection by state legislatures Selection by Congress A compromise of these options

What is the Electoral College?

A Constitutional compromise between opposing political factions to elect the President.

A group of people (electors) in each state, selected by each state legislature, to elect the President and Vice President of the United States.

History

The similarities between the Electoral College and classical institutions are not accidental. Many of the Founding Fathers were well schooled in ancient history and its lessons.

Founders started electoral

The Electoral College was established by the founders as a compromise between election for the president by Congress and election by popular vote. Alexander Hamilton was among the first to write about the concept of electors in the Federalist Papers in 1788. The electoral college assumed its present constitutional form in 1804.

The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors," but not to the "electoral college."

History The structure of the Electoral College can be traced to

the Centurial Assembly system of the Roman Republic, and the term “elector” to the later Holy Roman Empire.

An elector was one of a number of princes of the various German states within the Holy Roman Empire who had a right to participate in the election of the German emperor.

The term "college" (from the Latin collegium), refers to a body of persons that act as a unit.

In the early 1800's, the term "electoral college" came into general use as the unofficial designation for the group of citizens selected to cast votes for President and Vice President.

It was first written into Federal law in 1845, and today the term appears in 3 U.S.C. section 4, in the section heading and in the text as "college of electors."

Why do we have the Electoral College?

Three reasons: 1. The framers of the Constitution feared

direct democracy. Hamilton and the other founders did not trust the population to make the right choice.

“election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station”

– James Madison

Why do we have the Electoral College?

Three reasons: 2. The founding fathers wanted to protect

the interests of smaller states and rural areas

3. Electoral College helps dilute the effect of votes from densely populated centers whose issues and concerns may be different from the rest of the country

How Does It Work?

Most people believe that when you vote in the General Election in November, you are casting your vote for the President of the United States.

WRONG! When you cast your vote in November, you

are actually voting for a “slate” (group) of electors, who are in turn pledged to vote for a specific candidate in December.

How Does It Work?

There are a total 538 electors, chosen by political parties in each state, who are “elected” to cast a ballot for a specific Presidential candidate.

538 = the number of Representatives (438) + Senators (100) in Congress. This number was set by law in 1911.

Note that 538 is only 0.0000138% of the current US population of 308,745,538

Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of senators (always two) plus the number of its representatives.

New Mexico has three Representatives and two Senators in Congress, so it therefore also has FIVE electors.

2012 Electoral College Map

270 votes are needed to win the election

How Does It Work? STEP 1

Each political party chooses a “slate” of electors prior to the general election in November. These electors are “pledged” to vote for a specific candidate. Electors are chosen as a reward for service in a

variety of ways (differs by state).

In the 2008 Presidential election in New Mexico for example:

Democrats chose 5 electors pledged to Obama

Republicans chose 5 electors pledged to McCain

Green Party chose 5 electors pledged to McKinney, etc.

How Does It Work? STEP 2

In November of a presidential election year, each state holds a general election in which all eligible citizens may vote.

Citizens vote for a “ticket” which includes a candidate for president and a candidate for vice president.

The results from the November general election dictate which political party’s electors are chosen to vote in the Electoral College in December.

ALL of the electors for the candidate that wins the popular vote are selected to cast their vote for President. This is called the “winner takes all” system.

If the Republicans won the popular vote in New Mexico, their slate of electors will cast their votes for President/Vice-President.

But if the Democrats won the popular vote, their electors would cast their votes instead.

How Does it Work? STEP 3 In December, the electors meet in their

state capitols to cast their ballots for president and vice president 41 days after the election

Thus the “Electoral College” never meets as a national body per se.

How Does it Work? STEP 3 cont.

States may or may not require their electors to vote with the popular majority. 24 states have laws which make it illegal for electors to vote against their party.

Electors who vote against their pledged candidate are called “faithless electors.”

On 158 occasions, electors have cast their votes for president in a different manner than that prescribed by the legislature of the state they represent.

Of those, 71 votes were changed because the original candidate died before the elector was able to cast a vote.

How Does it Work? STEP 4

These ballots are opened, counted, and certified by a joint session of Congress in January.

How Does It Work? STEP 5

If no candidate wins a majority of the electoral votes or if the top two candidates are tied, the House of Representatives is required to vote for a president from among the leading five candidates.

The House votes en-bloc by state for this purpose. That means one vote per state, which is determined by the majority decision of the delegation from that state. If a state delegation is evenly split that state is considered as abstaining

The Senate selects a vice president by the same process. (This hasn't happened since 1876, but it almost happened in 2000.)

How Does It Work? STEP 5 cont.

The House of Representatives must choose a winner in time for the inauguration (noon on January 20).

If they do not, then the Constitution specifies that the new Vice President becomes Acting President until the House selects a President.

If the winner of the Vice Presidential election is not known by then either, then under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the Speaker of the House of Representatives would become Acting President until the House selects a President or the Senate selects a Vice President

Extra Credit Trivia Question:

The House of Representatives has elected the President on two occasions, in 1801 and in 1825.

5 points extra credit if you bring me the answer in writing tomorrow: Who were these Presidents?

How does it work?

Nationally Locally (NM)

2. Each party nominates a top candidate and holds a national convention.

1. State Primaries are held for Presidential candidates, and electors are chosen by each party

4. Parties’ slate of electors are chosen by the outcome

3. In November each state holds a general election

6. Joint session of Congress counts the votes

5. The Electoral College votes in each state capitol in December.

7. The President is inaugurated in January

Who are the Electors?

Depending on State policy, electors can be nominated by their political party, voted for in the primaries or chosen by a campaign committee

Currently, all states choose electors by popular election on the date specified by federal law

Electors can be anyone from a housewife to a lawyer to a baseball player

Only ONE Restriction: No person holding a federal office, either elected or appointed, may become an elector

Phases in the Presidential Election Process

1) State primaries (pre-nomination)2) National Conventions3) General Election4) Electoral College Election5) Ties are broken by a vote in the

House of Representatives

Does the Electoral College Work?

92% record of non-controversial results

Promotes an ideologically and geographically broad two-party system

Contributes to the cohesiveness of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president

Enhances the status of minority interests

Maintains a federal system of government and representation

Arguments in favor of keeping the Electoral College system:

Does the Electoral College work?:

The possibility of electing a minority president (one that did not receive the popular vote).

This has happened four times in U.S. history

The risk of so-called “faithless electors”

There have been 158 faithless electors in U.S. history, but none have changed the outcome of an election.

The possible role of the electoral college in depressing voter turnout (e.g. “my vote doesn’t count”)

The number of electors per state is based on population, and the U.S. Census only occurs once every 10 years

Arguments against the Electoral College system:

Proposals Made to Change the System:

Over the past 200 years, over 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. The most promising alternative systems include:

Direct, popular vote

Direct Election with Instant Runoff Voting

Proportional allocation of electoral votes

Direct vote with plurality rule

Congressional District Method

National Bonus Plan

Binding Proposal

Does my vote count?

YES!!!

Since the party-affiliate electors are chosen to vote for the popular vote decided by the state, YOUR vote counts to increase the popular vote for your party! If there are enough people in your party that vote and win the popular vote, all the party-affiliated electoral votes will go to your candidate!

Election Voting Age Population Turnout  % Turnout of VAP

2008 230,872,030 132,645,504 56.9%

2004 215,694,000 122,295,345 56.69%

2000 205,815,000 105,586,274 51.31%

1996 196,511,000 96,456,345 49.08%

1992 189,529,000 104,405,155 55.09%

1988 182,778,000 91,594,693 50.11%

1984 174,466,000 92,652,680 53.11%

1980 164,597,000 86,515,221 52.56%

1976 152,309,190 81,555,789 53.55%

1972 140,776,000 77,718,554 55.21%

1968 120,328,186 73,199,998 60.83%

1964 114,090,000 70,644,592 60.92%

1960 109,159,000 68,838,204 63.06%

Voter Turnout:

Voter Turnout Statistics

VEP: Voter Eligible Population: Those people who were actually eligible to vote. Includes overseas voters and excludes illegal immigrants, felons, etc.

VAP: Voting Age Population: Includes ALL persons 18 years or older by Census data, regardless of actual eligibility to vote.

Source: http://elections.gmu.edu/voter_turnout.htm

Does My Vote Count?A Review of the 2000 Election

Why 2000? US Census year

Pivotal election

Highly contentious

Sparked interest in the electoral college

“Nader issue”

Florida, New Mexico, New Hampshire &

Oregon – every vote counted!

• Al Gore WON the popular vote, but LOST the electoral vote• One of only 4 elections, and first in over 100 years (1824, 1876,

1888, 2000) where the popular vote winner was defeated • Green Party candidate Ralph Nader received 2,882,728 votes, but

no Electoral Votes

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100% Republican

100% Democrat

The “Nader” Issue Does your vote count? Consider the impact of

Ralph Nader’s campaign on the Democratic party’s vote in the 2000 election. Nader received about 3 percent of the popular

vote.

Most Nader votes would otherwise have voted Democrat (for Al Gore).

Democrats accused Nader of “handing the election to Bush” by splitting the Democratic vote.

Was this true? Consider the chart on the next page.

The True “Swing States”

If the popular vote in ANY ONE of these states had gone to Al Gore, he would have won the election.

If Nader had not been a candidate and the Nader voters had supported Gore, ALL of the electoral votes in these states would have gone to Gore.

The Pivotal States:

In the 2000 election, Al Gore lost to George W. Bush by only 5 electoral votes. In four states (NM, OR, FL & MN), the popular

vote was decided by a margin of less than 2%.

Nationwide, the vote was decided by less than 1%.

In New Mexico, the winning margin was only 366 people. Seriously. WHOA!

If only 366 voters in New Mexico had voted differently, or if 366 more Democrats had voted at all, Al Gore would have won the 2000 election.

So Does Your Vote Count?

YES!So get off your ass and do your civic duty!

VOTE!It really does make a difference.