Electoral College The Electoral College What is it

Electoral College

The Electoral College What is it? �The electoral system in which voters choose electors who pledge to cast their ballots for a particular party’s candidate Why was it created? �The founding fathers were not sure that an “uneducated electorate” would be capable of selecting an able leader

The Electoral College What does it do? �Formally elects the President of the United States How does it work? �Each state gets a certain # of electoral votes based on population �A candidate has to win a majority (270) to win the election �If there is no majority, the vote goes to the House of Representatives

Pros and Cons of the Electoral College Pros �Requires a distribution of popular support to be elected president �Maintains a federal system of government and representation �Encourages a two-party system Cons �Discourages success of 3 rd parties �The risk of so-called faithless electors �Possible role of the Electoral College in depressing voter turnout �The person who wins the popular vote doesn’t always become the President!

Keep the Electoral College? �In the elections of John Quincy Adams (1824), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888), George W. Bush (2000), and Donald Trump (2016) the candidate won the election even though the opponent received more popular votes �Abolishing would require a constitutional amendment

Keep the Electoral College? �The National Popular Vote movement advocates an interstate compact to bypass the existing system �Would require each participating state to cast all of its electoral votes for the candidate who receives the most popular votes nationwide �Will go into effect if the number of states participating can elect a majority of the electoral college �Currently there are 11 states participating (165 electoral votes)