Electing A President

The Original System Article II Section 1 – Electoral College Each state would choose electors according to a method set up by state legislature

The Original System Electors: members from a party that elect the President and V.P Electoral votes : votes for the President and V.P. Votes would be counted in a joint congressional session

Presidential Election Flow chart

Electoral Process Today Parties choose nominees for President and V.P. at Conventions held in late summer – based on Primaries and Caucus's Primaries: Open: all voters may participate even if they don’t belong to the party, but they can only vote in one party’s primary Closed: only party members can vote in the primary Only need majority vote Caucus: Neighborhood – County – Congressional district - State Meetings to select party candidates Used by 19 states

Party Conventions Formerly, used to be sole decision maker for nomination of candidate Political reform changed its role Today, parties choose one of the nominees who have been preselected (primaries/caucuses) No longer a decision maker for the party’s candidate Delegate selection now determines candidate nomination NOTE: Still instrumental in developing party platforms and future direction

Delegate Selection Chosen by primary or caucus Dems: All delegates come to the convention already committed to a candidate (based on proportion of votes) Dems:Superdelegates now play a major role Delegate slot to the Dem. Party Conventions that is reserved for an elected official Who are they? What is their Purpose? Reps: Not bound to state primary results No superdelegates

Electoral College System Today Voters cast ballots on the Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November Not voting for president, but for electors Electors cast votes in December Electoral College made up of 538 – Number of House and Senate + 3 for D.C.

NUMBER OF ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES PER STATE

Electoral College System (cont.) Winner-take all system California has 55 electoral votes: If 40 of them are Republican votes all 55 would be Republican Maine and Nebraska are the exception – not winner-takes-all Candidate must win at least 270 of 538 votes

Electoral College Issues Winner-take-all: argue that those who vote for the losing candidate are at a disadvantage Makes it possible for one who receives the popular vote to lose the electoral vote Third Party Candidates: Could take electoral votes away from either major-party candidate