Electoral college

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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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."

6. 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."

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

11. 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.

12. 2012 Electoral College Map
270 votes are needed to win the election

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. How Does it Work? STEP 4
These ballots are opened, counted, and
certified by a joint session of Congress in
January.

19. 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.)

20. 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

21. 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?

22. 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

23. 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

24. Phases in the Presidential Election
Process
1)State primaries (pre-nomination)
2)National Conventions
3)General Election
4)Electoral College Election
5)Ties are broken by a vote in the
House of Representatives

26. 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:

27. 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:

28. 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

29. 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!

30. 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:

31. 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

32. 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!

33. •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
.
.
.
.

34. 100% Republican
100% Democrat

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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.

38. So Does Your Vote Count?
YES!
So get off your ass and do your civic duty!
VOTE!
It really does make a difference.