Aim: How did the Constitution even out the powers of the federal government? Do Now: Hand in your One Act Play on Federalism – Quiz Grade Answer the three Do Now Questions on your sheet. Homework Watch “Crash Course in Government and Politics: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances” and complete the Google Form on our class website.

Separation of Powers Legislative Executive Judicial   Legislative Executive Judicial Members of the Branch Most Significant Role Why? (2 Sentences)

Separation of Powers Separation of Powers is a government principle in which the powers of the government is divided among different branches, each with their own roles and responsibilities . What would cause the framers of the Constitution to establish a system of separation of powers?

Federal Office Holders Number Term Selection Requirements House of Representatives At least one per state based on population.   Larger states = more representation 435 Total Members Two years Elected by voters of congressional districts Age 25 or over Citizen for 7 years Resident of the state in which elected Senate Two per state (equal number) 100 Senators (2 per State) Six Years Original Constitution – elected by states 17th Amendment – elected by voters Age 30 or over Citizen for 9 years President Vice President One President One Vice President Four Years Elected by the electoral college. Age 35 or over Natural-born citizen Resident of U.S. for 14 years Supreme Court Justice Nine Justices (One Chief Justice) Lifetime Appointed by the President No constitutional requirements

Electoral College Why does the U.S. have the Electoral College system? The framers of the Constitution created the system as a compromise after considering election of the president by Congress, election by the state legislatures, and election by the people (popular vote). Some historians believe that the framers were concerned about having the president elected directly by the people. Who are the electors? How are they chosen in your state? Electors are often loyal party activists and may be state officials, party leaders, or those affiliated in some way with the Presidential candidate. They are generally nominated by the parties in each state (the process varies from state to state – answers will vary) and then chosen by the voters in each state on Election Day.

Electoral College What do the electors actually do? Can they vote any way they wish? The electors gather in their state capitals on the Monday following the second Wednesday in December. They cast one vote for president and one for vice president. No federal law binds electors although some states do have such laws that have never been enforced. So, electors can vote any way they wish, although they have rarely gone against the popular vote.

Electoral College How many electoral votes are there? How are they divided among the states? How many does your state have? How does your state determine how many electoral votes each candidate will get? There are 538 electoral votes total. Each state receives the number of electors equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress it has. The District of Columbia also receives 3 electoral votes. Most states use a winner-take-all system: the candidate that wins the popular vote gets all of that state’s electoral votes. (This is how the electoral and popular votes can differ.) Maine and Nebraska allocate their electoral votes proportionally (by popular vote in each congressional district).

Electoral College How many electoral votes are needed to win? What if no candidate receives a majority? Has this ever happened? 270 votes are needed to win. If no candidate receives a majority, the House of Representatives selects the president from the top three candidates and the Senate selects the Vice President. Each state gets one vote. This happened in 1800 and 1824. How often have the results of the Electoral College differed from the popular vote? Four times – 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000

Checks and Balances Checks and Balances is the system in which each branch of the government has the ability to limit the powers of the other branches to prevent any from becoming too powerful.

Checks and Balances

Closing Question: How did the Constitution even out the powers of the federal government?