The Electoral College Presidential elections are state-by-state elections It’s all about which candidate wins a plurality of the popular votes in a particular state That candidate’s party gets to select the actual electors that will cast the actual votes for president Go to Electoral College map on class website

The Electoral College Each state gets electoral votes that equal the number of representatives they have in the House of Representative plus their 2 senators The votes a state gets in the Electoral College are adjusted every 10 years as a result of the new census

It Takes 270 to Win!!!!! Since there are 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 Senators, and the 23 rd Amendment gave Washington D.C. 3 electoral votes there are 538 total electoral votes To win the election a candidate must get a majority! Presidential elections are all about the strategy to get to 270 electoral votes

The Electoral Vote Electors actually cast their vote for president in their state capital in the December after the November election On January 6, the Vice President (presiding over the Senate) opens the sealed votes and the election results become official On January 20, the new president is inaugurated

Should the Electoral College be replaced? No – It has served the nation well for all these years – It assures that the states count…It preserves federalism

Should the Electoral College be replaced? – It protects the two party system and discourages fringe third parties – It gives slim winners in the national popular vote the legitimacy to govern – It protects the small states (California 55 vs. Wyoming 3)

CLOSE POPULAR VOTE YearCandidatePopular VoteElectoral Vote 1884Grover Cleveland James G. Blaine 4, 911,017 4,848,334 [62,683] John F. Kennedy Richard M. Nixon *Harry F. Byrd 34,227,096 34,108,546 [118,550] Richard M. Nixon Hubert H. Humphrey George C. Wallace 31,785,480 31,275,166 [510,314] 9,906, *George W. Bush Albert Gore, Jr. 50,444,156 50,997,335 [553,179]

Should the Electoral College be replaced? Yes – National popular vote winner should never lose the election

WINNER DID NOT RECEIVE THE MOST POPULAR VOTES YearCandidatePopular VoteElectoral Vote 1824*John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Other Candidates 105, ,872 90, *Rutherford B. Hayes Samuel Tilden 4,033,950 4,284, Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland 5,444,337 5,540, *George W. Bush Albert Gore, Jr. 50,444,156 50,997, *1824—Elected by the House of Representatives because no candidate won a majority. 1876—An electoral commission set up to rule on contested election results in three states gave Hayes the presidency. 2000—Contested election in Florida decided by U.S. Supreme Court gave Bush the presidency.

Should the Electoral College be replaced? It distorts the results of presidential elections No incentive to campaign in “safe” states It discourages voter turnout in “safe” states

Alternate Plans The Proportional Plan The Congressional District Plan The National Bonus Plan Straight Nationwide Popular Vote

Proportional Plan Electoral votes are divided in each state based on the proportion of the popular vote Texas would have been : – Romney22(57.2%) – Obama16(41.4%)

Benefits of Proportional Plan Would increase voter turnout Would encourage third parties Candidates would want to campaign everywhere

Problems with the Proportional Plan How do you divide electoral votes? – Candidate A – 5.5 electoral votes – Candidate B – 5.5 electoral votes All states would have to adopt the same system

Congressional District Plan One electoral vote to the winner of the popular vote in each Congressional district Maine and Nebraska currently use this Maine has never split its electoral votes Nebraska did for the first time in 2008 (Obama got 1)

Nebraska

Congressional District Pros Votes would be more representative of people’s vote in each district.

Congressional District Cons Most districts have been gerrymandered to be safe districts It would make gerrymandering even more hotly contested Candidates would only focus on the relatively few competitive districts

National Bonus Plan Keep the current system but give the winner of the national popular vote a bonus of 102 electoral votes (2 for each state plus 2 for Washington, D.C.)

National Bonus Plan Pros Would encourage “losing” voters in safe states to vote Would almost guarantee that the national popular vote winner wins the election

Direct National Popular Vote with Plurality Rule National popular vote winner wins the election even without a majority

Direct Vote with Plurality Rule Pros Guarantees the candidate with the most votes wins the election Fits with the basic concept of democracy…would reflect the will of the people Simple…easy for people to understand

Direct Vote with Plurality Rule Cons Would diminish the influence of the smaller states (Cal vs. Wyoming) Candidates would focus even more on big cities If we ever needed a recount, it’d be nationwide Could get a winner with a very small plurality of the vote

Should the Electoral College Be Abolished?