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The Electoral College

The Electoral College. True or False?. The candidate with the most votes is elected president. Answer: Not necessarily. Ask Al Gore. The 2000 Election. The Popular Vote Al Gore 50,996,039 George W. Bush 50,456,141 The Electoral Vote George W. Bush 271 Al Gore 267.

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The Electoral College

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  1. The Electoral College

  2. True or False? The candidate with the most votes is elected president. Answer: Not necessarily. Ask Al Gore.

  3. The 2000 Election The Popular Vote Al Gore 50,996,039 George W. Bush 50,456,141 The Electoral Vote George W. Bush 271 Al Gore 267

  4. Historical Background • The framers of the Constitution disagreed on how to elect a president • Congressional selection…why not? • direct popular election…why not? • The electoral college was a compromise • combining features of both approaches.

  5. The Electoral College and Federalism • The electoral college also reflects the federal nature of the Constitution • Ensures that the states have a role in selecting the president.

  6. State Electoral Votes • Each state is entitled to as many electoral votes as the sum of its representation • U.S. House of Representatives • U.S. House of Senate • Wisconsin: 8 House members plus 2 senators = 10 electoral votes • Total: • 435 House members • 100 senators • 3 electors for the District of Columbia • = 538 electoral votes

  7. How are electors chosen? In Wisconsin electors are chosen by the political parties state legislative candidates and state officers 2012, Wisconsin: 10 Electors. Population 2010 census: 5,363,675. 1,677,211 popular votes cast for electors pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

  8. Who are the Electors? • Individuals selected in each state to officially cast that state’s electoral votes. • Wisconsin selects 10 electors to cast the state’s 10 electoral votes. • Framers anticipated that electors would be state leaders who would exercise good judgment. • Today, party leaders select electors who are typically long-time party activists. • Electors almost always vote for their party’s candidates.

  9. Delegate Votes Divided • Each state determines the manner of selection • All but two states use a winner-take-all delegates statewide election system • Nebraska • Maine • Everyone else (Including Wisconsin) • If Candidate A gets the most votes in a state, Candidate A gets the all of the delegates.

  10. Voters and Electors • Therefore, • An Wisconsinite who votes for Obama is really voting for a elector pledged to cast the state’s electoral votes for Obama. • Remember: • In 2000, Bush won all of Florida’s 25 electoral votes because the final official vote tally showed him ahead of Gore by about 600 votes.

  11. The Real Election • In December of election year • The electors gather in their respective state capitols to cast ballots for president and vice president. • In January • Congress comes into session • They open the ballots received from each state • They announce the official outcome.

  12. What if no one receives a majority? • To win, a candidate needs a majority, • 270 electoral votes. • If no candidate has a majority • the House of Representatives selects the president from among the three presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. • If this happens, each state has one vote. • Happened only once! • 1824 Congress chose John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. • The Senate selects the vice president from the top two vice-presidential candidates.

  13. Popular Vote v. the Electoral Vote • In a close race, the popular vote winner may not win the electoral college. • One candidate may win states by lopsided margins while the other wins states by narrow margins. • Electoral vote winners who lost the popular vote • Bush over Gore in 2000 • Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland in 1888 • Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden in 1876

  14. Criticisms of the Electoral College • The popular vote winner may lose the presidency. • Electors may vote for persons other than their party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates. • If no candidate receives a majority, Congress will pick the president and vice president.

  15. Small group web act: (pp. 382 - 384) You are responsible for the hi-lighted alternative: The District Plan The Proportional Plan The Direct Popular Election Plan The National Bonus Plan As a group choose one of the alternatives and explain (in writing) your rationale for this choice as well as how you will convince 3/4 of the states (most importantly the small states) to agree with it (remember, such a change will require a constitutional amendment) Electoral College Reform

  16. Review Question North Carolina has 13 U.S. representatives. How many electoral votes does the state have?

  17. Review Question Who are electors?

  18. Review Question Does it matter whether a candidate carries a state by a few votes or a lot of votes?

  19. Review Question What is the small state bias?

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