1. Party Conventions
Nominate party presidential candidates
Vote on party “platform”
Primary Elections
Election
Day
January
June
July/Aug
November
General Election
Presidential Election Cycle
Every 4 years
Last 2012
President/ ALL representatives/ 1/3 Senators

2. Per voter influence

3. Electoral College Basics
State Electoral votes = S + R = 535
EVs per State can change every 10 years. Why?
District of Columbia has 3 EV
SO, 537 is the total
TO WIN, candidate must win a majority
That number is 270

4. How do candidates win EVs?
In almost all States, they must win the state-wide popular vote by a plurality. They then win ALL of the EVs for that State
This is called the winner take all rule
So, Bush in 2000 won Florida by about 500 votes (out of millions cast), and so won ALL of Florida’s EVs

7. 2008 Presidential Election Obama 365 to McCain 173

8. 2012 Results

9. Election Day is Not the REAL Election Day
On election day, voters will vote for real people called Electors (each party has registered these with the State)
Party that wins the popular vote, wins these electors Winner take all
Winning electors then meet in State capitals in the middle of December to cast their votes
Electors free to vote for any candidate

10. Real Election
After electors vote in each State, results are mailed to Congress
On January 6, results from States are opened in a joint session of Congress and counted
Winner of majority of EVs (270 EVs) is president
Inauguration day is January 20

11. Election Day
Early November
Electors elected
Congress counts EVs
January 6
President of the Senate counts
Electors vote in State Capitals
Middle December
Inauguration Day
January 20
President elect becomes president

12. What happens if no candidate wins 270 Electoral Votes?
The House of Representatives decides who is president
Each State gets one vote
So all the representatives from each State have to decide how their State should vote
Candidate who wins a majority of 50 votes (26) wins

13. Review Quiz
Each State has a number of electoral votes equal to ?? + ?? ?
There are 538 total votes in the Electoral College. Fill in the sources for this number:
Source
Number
House of Representatives
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Total 538
3. In all but two States, the winner of the ____________vote wins ______
of the Evs.

14. 4. In order to win the election, a presidential candidate must win a
______________ of the Evs. Today the winning number is _______.
5. In no candidate wins the presidential election based on electoral votes, how
is the president selected?

15. Quiz What are the minimum Constitutional requirements to be president?
Who was the youngest president ever?
Which president served the longest?
If a vice president believes a president can no longer perform his or her functions, how can the Vice President become “Acting President”?
Each State has a number of electoral votes equal to ?? + ?? ?