1 / 12

The Electoral College

The Electoral College is a unique mechanism for electing the President of the United States, consisting of 538 electors—100 from the Senate, 435 from the House of Representatives, and 3 from Washington, D.C. Voters technically cast their ballots for electors pledged to their chosen candidates, rather than directly for the presidential candidates. This system can lead to discrepancies between the popular vote and electoral outcomes, as seen in the controversial elections of 2000 and 2008. Discover the implications of the "winner-takes-all" method and how electoral votes are allocated across states.

tess
Télécharger la présentation

The Electoral College

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Electoral College Caitlyn Fitzgerald INDT 501-03

  2. What is it? • Made up of representatives (electors) • 538 • 100 to represent each Senator • 435 to represent each Representative of the House • 3 for Washington, DC

  3. Who are we voting for? • Do you vote directly for the President? • NO! • You actually vote for an elector • Electors pledge to vote for the candidates for whom the constituents vote • Candidates need a simple majority (270) to win

  4. Who do electors vote for? • All but 2 states have a “winner take all” method • If the majority of citizens vote Republican, all of that state’s electors pledge to cast their votes for the Republican candidate • Example: Virginia has 13 electoral votes. All 13 would go to the Republican candidate

  5. Elector Breakdown • The 2008 election by state…

  6. A Flaw of the College • Although population-based, does not always reflect results of popular vote • The 2000 election: • Electoral votes: • Bush: 271 • Gore: 266 • BUT, popular votes: • Bush: 50,456,002 • Gore: 50,999,897 Should Al Gore have been president???

  7. Question 1 • Which state carries the most electoral votes? • A. New York • B. Florida • C. California

  8. Question 2 • What does “winner take all” mean in the electoral college? • A. The presidential candidate with the most popular votes automatically wins the election • B. The presidential candidate with the most popular votes in a state wins all of that state’s electoral votes • C. The presidential candidate who wins the most states automatically wins the election

  9. Question 3 • Why was the 2008 presidential election different than usual for Virginia? • A. Virginia voted for the Democratic candidate • B. Virginia voted for the Republican candidate • C. Some of Virginia’s electoral votes went to the Republicans and some went to the Democrats

  10. Right

  11. Wrong

  12. Sources • Tan electoral college map [map]. Retrieved October 27, 2010, from: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/pages/electoralcollege.php • US Electoral College Map 2008 [map]. Retrieved October 27, 2010, from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Electoral_College_Map_2008.svg • Al Gore [photo]. Retrieved October 27, 2010, from: http://gawker.com/5282163/al-gores-busy-making-bad-jokes-while-his-currenttv-journalists-are-still-trapped-in-north-korea

More Related