The Electoral College Process

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The Electoral College Process
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Why an Electoral College?

• The Founding Fathers felt an EC was necessary for
  a few reasons
• First, they questioned whether the electorate
  (the people) were capable of selecting an
  adequate leader for the nation? if the people
  chose the wrong President, the EC could
  override the vote.

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Why an Electoral College?

• Second, voters had very little knowledge of
  candidates outside of their local area or state?
  voting was based primarily on REGION

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Step 1 Popular Vote

• On election day, voters choose who they want to
  be President Vice President
• What were actually choosing are ELECTORS who
  represent the political party of the candidate we
  like
• These electors are then supposed to vote for the
  candidate that wins the popular vote in a given
  state

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Step 2 Winner Take All

• The EC system is winner take all.
• That is, the candidate with the most popular
  votes gets ALL of the electoral votes (except in
  Maine and Nebraska where the electoral votes can
  be divided)

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Step 3 Counting the Votes

• The electors then meet in the State capitol to
  cast votes for the candidate they represent
  (Monday after the 2nd Wednesday in December).
• Those votes are then sent to the president of the
  Senate in DC
• The president of the Senate counts the votes on
  January 6 (this is done before Congress)

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Step 3a What if There Is A Tie (or if no one
wins)?

• If no Presidential candidate gets 270 electoral
  votes, the US House of Representatives takes a
  vote to determine the winner (this happened in
  1800 1824)
• If no Vice Presidential candidates receives
  enough votes to win, the Senate takes a vote to
  decide who the winner is (this happened in 1837).

http//www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute
/The_Senate_Elects_A_Vice_President.htm
Richard M Johnson
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Flaws of the Electoral College
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1 Its possible to win the popular vote but
lose the electoral vote

• 1824? Andrew Jackson (41.3 of the popular votes,
  John Quincy Adams 30.9 of the popular vote)
• Jackson received 99 of 261 electoral votes? more
  than any other candidate but not enough to win

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1876

• Samuel J. Tilden
• 4,288,546 popular votes
• 184 electoral votes
• Rutherford B Hayes
• 4,034,311 popular votes
• 185 electoral votes

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1888

• Grover Cleveland
• 5,534,488 popular votes
• 168 electoral votes
• Benjamin Harrison
• 5,443,892 popular votes
• 233 electoral votes

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2000

• Al Gore
• 50,992,335 popular votes
• 266 electoral votes
• George W Bush
• 50,455,156 (537,179 votes less)
• 271 electoral votes
• Florida was decided by only 537 votes!

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2 Electors Dont Have to Do What We Tell Them To

• Electors have refused to vote for their partys
  nominee
• 1796
• 1820
• 1948
• 1956
• 1960
• 1968
• 1972
• 1976
• 1988
• 2000
• 2004? an elector from MN voted for John Edwards
  (twice, Pres VP)

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3 The contest could be decided by the House

• Problem The voting is not done by members of the
  House but by state.
• Why is that a problem?
• A state could lose its votes if no candidate
  received a majority
• If a 3rd party candidate were involved, the vote
  could be divided and no one would be declared
  winner by January 20