Electoral College

To protect from manipulation- people vote To maintain states’ right- people vote per state

Federalist #68- Hamilton, you’re a genius Click HERE to read it in its entirety, or just my summary: The Founders so greatly feared the tyranny of the majority, that they rejected the idea of a direct vote for President, in favor of the Electoral College.

What type of Government are we? Pick the one that doesn’t belong… Republic Federal Constitutional Presidential Representative Democracy Direct Democracy Oh, that’s right, we discussed the first week about having a direct Democracy and all of YOU told ME that it was an unrealistic idea and in a way, actually a bad idea… Well, the Founders thought so too. We have never been a pure, majority wins, direct democracy. Instead, our system was founded on being a representative democracy, including during elections! Let’s think back to all the reasons YOU told me that being a direct Democracy was bad:

What did we learn back in unit one about the foundations of a democracy? Majority Rules, minority rights Equality of persons (civil rights) Individual freedom (personal liberties) Necessity of Compromise Worth of the individual Let’s talk about the first one on the list In history, pure Democracies have not worked. Why? A simple majority (50% plus 1 vote) can tyrannize an entire country. Divide and conquer was history’s favorite game. I’d argue we’re in the throes of it right now! What did the Founders establish in order to prevent this from happening? (next slide)

What was established to prevent tyranny of the majority? Separation of Powers (3 branches of the National Government) A bicameral Congress (small state and large state compromise) Supermajority in Congress AND ¾ of the states in order to amend the U.S. Constitution Federalism Oh… that’s right…the Electoral College

Does anyone even know how it works? Stage one in November purely democratic popular vote Follows the principal of Federalism 51 State run elections for the President of the United States (plus D.C.) Stage two in December 538 electors from each state and D.C. cast their vote for President based on YOUR direct vote in November. 270 Electoral votes are needed to win the Presidency This also follows Federalism… now it’s the federal government’s turn! Well, I’ll tell you; like most other parts of our Democracy, it happens in two phases to protect the minority from the majority Is it for the President? No, the popular vote is a DIRECT vote for either the Republican or Democratic slate of Electors. You still get a direct vote in the Electoral College, just not for the President Why is this system important? This encourages coalition building and national campaigning In order to get to 270, the nominee must earn the support of many different types of voters, from various regions of the country Cannot win election from just the south, Midwest, etc. Isn’t it really just about swing states? Nope! That would imply a set of swing states that is constant, but they are constantly changing No political party can ignore any state for too long, or its allegiance will flip! LOOK AT WISCONSIN PICTURE

Basically our current system, except Maine (4 electoral votes- 2 Congressional Districts) and Nebraska (5 Electoral Votes and 3 Congressional Districts

Popular Vote Pros Cons One person, one vote Eliminates faithless electors from the electoral college

“Swing” States Florida Ohio Pennsylvania

Do the maps look different in “safe” states? Texas Minnesota New York Illinois

2016 Results Using Congressional District Method Clinton-261 Trump-260 Johnson-12 Stein-1 McMullin-1

Which problem is worse, the EC or Voter Turnout?

What’s the conclusion? There isn’t one Before you passionately fight for or against the Electoral College, get to really understand the pros and cons of each potential system Understand that eliminating the Electoral College will not eliminate problems, it will create new problems Which problems are best for ALL of our systems, not just democracy Which problems are best for ALL foundations of a democracy, not just one of the five ALL of our systems: Republic Federal Constitutional Presidential Representative Democracy ALL parts of Democracy: Majority Rules, minority rights Equality of persons (civil rights) Individual freedom (personal liberties) Necessity of Compromise Worth of the individual Finally, the ultimate questions, would you want to get rid of the Electoral College if Republicans begin to out number Democrats?

Other Options to Create “fair” Elections Get rid of the two-step system Automatically register citizens at 18-years-old True access No voter ID laws If you are still a citizen, you still vote (felons and those living abroad and in the territories) Allow Third Party Candidates to participate in debates Close loopholes in Campaign Finance Laws Overturn Citizens United??? Initiate Alternate Vote Will help Third Party candidates Gets it of strategic voting and allow voters to rank candidates from first to last choice