Electoral College How the Electoral College Works Who

Electoral College How the Electoral College Works

Who votes for the President Ø Key Ideas: l Republic Form of Government • a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. l Popular Vote: (a percentage of the vote) • the process by which qualified voters choose candidates or vote on issues l Electoral Vote: (winner takes all vote) • the tally of the number state-appointed representatives for the US presidential candidate who has won a majority of the popular vote in that state

Worry of the Founders Ø At the time, some politicians (founders) believed a purely popular election was too reckless, while others objected to giving Congress the power to select the president. Ø The compromise was to set up an Electoral College system that allowed voters to vote for electors, who would then cast their votes for candidates Ø This was a form of checks and balances within our election of a president

Election Voting There are 538 total votes in the Electoral College Ø Absolute majority must be had, that is half of all the elector votes, plus 1. Ø Total to win, a candidate must get 270 or more electoral votes Ø Forty eight states, and Washington, D. C. , employ the winner-takes-all method, each awarding its presidential electors as a single bloc. Ø Two states, Maine and Nebraska, select one elector within each congressional district by popular vote Ø

Electoral College Mapping

Obama vs. Mc. Cain 2008 Obama: 326 Mc. Cain 212

How it Works Ø To become president, a candidate must get 270 electoral votes. Ø Each election, all Senators and Representatives get one vote for the electoral college. Ø The Representatives and Senators of each state all vote for the popular vote that the citizens of their state chose.

Cycle of Voting Protect and vote for our interests Population votes for Representatives Population votes for President Senators & House Members Presidential Candidates President is Elected from Electoral College Popular vote per state Senators & House Members vote in Electoral College

2004 Electoral College Voting

Election Stats by State Votes

Constitutional Law Article 2, Section 1, Clause 2 the Constitution was designed to be a mixture of state-based and population-based government. Ø The President should and would be elected by a mixture of the two modes, (population and statebased) giving some electoral power to the states and some to the people in general. Ø It was first written into Federal law in 1845 Ø

Elector College Elections Ø Electors chosen on Election Day meet in their respective state capitals (or in the case of Washington, D. C. , within the District) They meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December Ø at that time they cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for President and Vice President. Ø Ø In 2008, that meeting will be on December 15.

OBAMA vs. Mc. CAIN

Bush vs. Gore (2000)

Popular vs. Electoral Vote 2000 Historic Electoral College Election POPULAR VOTE: Bush’s Popular Vote: 50, 456, 002 Gore’s Popular Vote: 50, 999, 897 ELECTORAL VOTE: Bush’s Electoral Vote: 271 Gore’s Electoral Vote: 266 PERCENTAGE OF VOTE: Bush’s Percentage: 47. 9% Gore’s Percentage: 48. 4%