What do the following four men all have in common? A. Andrew Jackson B. Samuel Tilden C. Grover Cleveland D. Al Gore

The Answer They all won the popular vote in a Presidential election but did not become President.

1824 Popular Vote Andrew Jackson 43% John Q. Adams 30.5% Electoral Vote Jackson 99 votes Adams 84 * Adams elected by House of Representatives when Jackson did not receive a majority of the Electoral votes

1876 Popular Vote Samuel Tilden 51% R. B. Hayes 48% Electoral College Winner: Hayes

1888 Popular Vote Grover Cleveland 48.5 % Benjamin Harrison 47.8 % Electoral College Cleveland 168 Harrison 233 Winner: Harrison

2000 Popular Vote Albert Gore 48.7% George W. Bush 48.5% Electoral College Gore 266 Bush 271 Winner: Bush

Why? Because we do not pick our President by direct ballot. Technically, we only select electors. These electors form what is called the Electoral College and are the people who officially elect the President.

Why was it Created? People (then) were not knowledgeable enough to select a President.(poor communications) This was a check that gave the states a voice in choosing the President To maintain regional balance

What are the drawbacks to the Electoral College? Encourages low voter turnout Diminishes third party influence Person with most popular votes may not win Leads to tactical, insincere voting If there is no majority winner in the Electoral College, the election goes to the H.o. R and there is a loss of separation of powers

Why low voter turnout? The Electoral College is a winner take all system of deciding who receives a states electoral votes. Consequently, if a person gets 50.1% of the popular vote (in a two man race), he get 100% of the electoral votes. Therefore, many people feel that their vote does not matter and choose to not vote.

Third Parties The Electoral College discourages 3rd parties because a candidate must have a broad based, national platform to have a chance to gain the highest office. Rarely are 3rd parties financially and politically able to do this.

Tactical Voting Voters often resort to tactical voting in Presidential elections because the person they truly support cannot win the all of the electoral votes. For instance, many people would have preferred Ralph Nader in the 2000 Presidential election but knew that he was not going to win. Instead, they often voted for Al Gore because he was the major candidate with the platform closest to Nader.

Activities

In-Class Activity If you were running for President with limited money and could only focus on a few states, where would you focus your campaign?

Electoral College--Historical Origins, Precedents, Amendments Tough assignment-How to elect a president? large/small states; central/federal versus states power; balance of power between Congress & the Presidency; little communication between states- Several Proposals 1) have the Congress choose 2) state legislatures choose 3) direct popular vote-favorite son & large vs. small 4) College of electors--indirect election in which each state legislatures would choose knowledgeable and informed individuals to select the president based solely on merit and without regard to State of origin or political party. http://www.uselectionatlas.org

Electoral College--Historical Origins, Precedents, Amendments The First Design-- Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution Each State allocated number of Electors equal to its congressional delegation. The manner of choosing the Electors was left to the individual State legislatures. In order to prevent Electors from voting only for a "favorite son" of their own State, each Elector was required to cast two votes for president, at least one of which had to be for someone outside their home State. The person with the most electoral votes, provided that it was an absolute majority became president. Whoever obtained the next greatest number of electoral votes became vice president. In the event that no one obtained an absolute majority in the Electoral College or in the event of a tie vote, the U.S. House of Representatives would choose the president from among the top five contenders. The vice presidency would go to whatever remaining contender had the greatest number of electoral votes. If that, too, was tied, the U.S. Senate would break the tie by deciding between the two. http://www.uselectionatlas.org

1796 http://www.uselectionatlas.org

Historical Origins, Precedents, Amendments The Second Design (after four elections and rise of political parties) the 12th Amendment (1804) requires that: + each Elector cast one vote for president and a separate vote for vice president + if no one receives an absolute majority of electoral votes for president, then the U.S. House of Representatives will select the president from among the top three contenders with each State casting only one vote and an absolute majority being required to elect. + if no one receives an absolute majority for vice president, then the U.S. Senate will select the vice president from among the top two contenders for that office. http://www.uselectionatlas.org

1824 http://www.uselectionatlas.org

Election Inquiry Activity Map #1 http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/elections.html#list

Election Inquiry Activity Map #2 http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/elections.html#list

Election Inquiry Activity Questions Use Inquiry Activity Maps #1&#2 to answer the following questions about Presidential Elections from 1972-2000 (sample questions) 1. What three elections did the Republicans win the electoral vote by a landslide? 2. Which election was the closest in number of electoral votes? Which election was close in the popular vote but a landslide in the electoral vote? Name at least one state in which the same political party has won all eight elections. Note an election that was close in both the electoral vote and the popular vote. In which election did the Democratic candidate do the poorest in number of electoral votes? In which election did the winner of the popular vote lose the electoral vote?

“Electoral Vote Density” Number of voters divided by electoral votes Varies greatly between California and Wyoming 2004 Election California Electoral Vote Density: 651,659 persons per EV Wyoming Electoral Vote Density: 168,511persons per EV

Keep it, Tweak it, Scrap it ? Electoral College Keep it, Tweak it, Scrap it ?

Some Arguments for the Electoral College maintains a federal system of government and representation ----”nationalization of our central government”--”state’s choice” contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two-party system and political stability ---diffficult for minor party to win enough popular votes to get electoral votes--forces fringe or extreme ideas to the middle and also sometimes forces majority parties to adopt new ideas to maintain support--assimilation process--pragmatism contributes to the cohesiveness of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president --Candidates must build coaltions of states and regions (urban and rural) & without it the EC comes the possibilty of domination of one large populous region or of urban over rural interests http://uselectionatlas.org/INFORMATION/INFORMATION/electcollege_procon

Four Arguments Against the Electoral College : * the possibility of electing a numerically minority president narrow popular vote in large state-winner take all * the risk of so-called "faithless" Electors 1988-Dukakis/Bensen-West Virginia Elector switched them * the possible role of the Electoral College in depressing voter turnout other elections always taking place as well * its failure to accurately reflect the national popular will seven least populous states combined voters of about 3 million and 25 electoral votes the same as almost 10 million voters in Florida with the same 25 electoral votes--electoral vote density http://uselectionatlas.org/INFORMATION/INFORMATION/electcollege_procon

Tweak It ? District Method Two Electors At Large and one Electors for each Congressional District are pledged to each Presidential/Vice-Presidential ticket (the Electors' names may or may not appear on the ballot). The At-Large Electors pledged to the ticket having received the plurality of votes state-wide are chosen. The Elector pledged to the ticket having received the plurality of votes within each Congressional District is chosen. * This method was used by Michigan in the 1892 Election, splitting electors Rep 9 to Dem 5 * Maine adopted this method in 1969 (first used in 1972), but has yet to split any electors * Nebraska adopted this method in 1991 (first used in 1992), but has yet to split any electors http://uselectionatlas.org

Your Thoughts on the Electoral College?

Unit Evaluation Is the Electoral College a fair and democratic method of choosing the President? Or is it fair but not democratic? Or vice versa?