THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IN A NUTSHELL Not where Mrs. Sommers went to college!

What is the Electoral College?

Where is it noted in the Constitution? Article II

So how does it work? Each state has a certain number of “electors” based on the state’s population. This is the same number of Senators and Representatives the state has.

Representatives The number of Representatives per state is based on the state’s population. The larger the population, the larger the number of representatives.

Senators Each state ALWAYS has TWO Senators!

Examples! Montana has a small population and therefore, only 1 Representative New York, on the other hand, has a large population and therefore, has 29 Representatives. New Jersey is somewhere in the middle population- wise and has 12 Representatives.

Practice! Use your notes to figure out the formula that determines the number of electoral votes each state receives. Senators + Representatives= Electoral votes New Jersey=14 electoral votes Montana= 3 electoral votes New York= 31 electoral votes

How many Senators does each state have? It depends on the population 6 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

How many Representatives does each state have? 2 85 It depends on the population It depends on the population of the state 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Where in the Constitution is the Electoral College mentioned? Article I Article VIII Article V Article II 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

So, how many electoral votes determine the president today? 538 A candidate MUST win 270 of these 538 electoral votes to be elected President.

Why must a candidate win 270 of the 638 electoral votes to become president? It is such a cool number It just seems like that should be enough It is a majority They just picked a random number for fun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

This is confusing!! What is the purpose? It is considered to be part of the system of checks and balances. The Founders wanted to give the states with small populations more of an equal weight in the presidential election. The Founders didn’t trust the common man (Remember, women couldn’t vote then) to be able to make an informed decision on which candidate would make the best president.

Wait, I’m confused… So, once the popular votes are tallied up, the Electors must vote for the winner of the popular vote?

So, citizens don’t really determine who the next president is? Kind of… On Election Day, the citizens of the United States vote. These votes are tallied up in each state. This is called the “popular vote.” The Presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in each state traditionally gets ALL of the electoral votes for that state. Even if the candidate only won by a few votes. This is called “winner takes all.”

So, what happens if no presidential candidate gets the required number of majority votes? The House of Representatives will then elect the President from the two candidates who received the most electoral votes.

Has this ever happened? YES! Elections of: 1800, 1824, 1876, 2000 Can you remember who was running for President in 2000? George H.W. Bush vs. Al Gore Bush won electoral votes but lost popular votes Bush 270 electoral votes, 50,461,092 Gore 266 electoral votes, 50,994,086

How did the founders feel about the common man? He was super smart He was okay smart He was a little smart He was not the sharpest tool in the shed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

What is the “popular vote”? When the people vote and the totals are added up. When the people don’t vote for their chosen candidate. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

What does “winner takes all” mean? Candidate who receives the most votes in a state, typically gets all the electoral votes for that state. This means the candidate wins the election. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Review Questions