ELECTORAL COLLEGE Background Allotment of Electoral Votes CONTENTS

ELECTORAL COLLEGE

• Background • Allotment of Electoral Votes CONTENTS • Winning Electoral Votes • Winning the Election • Criticisms of the Electoral College • Efforts to abolish or reform

Ø Why was the Electoral College Created? Ø Poor communication- uninformed voters Ø Elitism- Only the “best” people select the president BACKGROUND Ø Compromise: Direct election vs. Congress choosing Ø Presidential Election day is 1 st Tuesday after the 1 st Monday in November every 4 years.

§ Each state has as many electoral votes as it has members in Congress (minimum of 3) (DC has 3 e. v. , 23 rd Amendment) § Total number of electoral votes= 538 ALLOTMENT OF ELECTORAL VOTES § CA has highest total= 55 § Number of e. v. change after census every 10 years, some states may gain or lose votes. Rust Belt to Sun Belt § The party that wins the popular vote of a state chooses the electors who vote in that state.

• Candidates with the most popular votes (only a plurality is needed) wins all of the states’ electoral votes. WINNING OF ELECTORAL VOTES • Winner-take-all • Candidates focus on “swing states” (states that are divided in loyalty and carry a sufficient number of electoral votes. • Don’t spend too much time or money in states you will win or states you cannot win.

• The winning candidate must have a majority of the electoral votes to win. 270 Electoral Votes to win! WINNING THE ELECTION • If no candidate wins the electoral college, it goes to the House of Representatives where each state gets One Vote! • Small states love this rule.

• Presidents can be elected with only a plurality rather than a majority of the popular vote (thanks to a 3 rd party) • The popular vote winner may not win the election (3 x this happened. CRITICISMS OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE • Small states are proportionately overrepresented. The allotment of e. v. favors people living in smaller states. • CA 1 e. v. =600, 000 people WY 1 e. v. = 155, 000 people • Small states are equal to large states if the vote goes to Congress • Inhibits the development of 3 rd parties. 1988 Ross Perot had 19% of the popular vote, but won zero electoral votes!

• Direct Election- winner of the popular votes win • Proportional System- percent of the popular vote is the amount of electoral votes a candidate receives. EFFORTS TO ABOLISH OR REFORM THE SYSTEM • Why it will never change? The Amendment Process • Small states love it! • The two major parties love it! • Keeps 3 rd parties from having a chance