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The Electoral College

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True or False?

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The candidate with the most votes is elected president.

Answer: Not necessarily. Ask Al Gore.

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The 2000 Election

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The Popular VoteAl Gore 50,996,039George W. Bush

50,456,141

The Electoral VoteGeorge W. Bush 271Al Gore 267

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Historical Background

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The framers of the Constitution disagreed on how to elect a presidentCongressional selection…why not?direct popular election…why not?

The electoral college was a compromisecombining features of both approaches.

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The Electoral College and Federalism

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The electoral college also reflects the federal nature of the ConstitutionEnsures that the states have a role in

selecting the president.

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State Electoral Votes

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Each state is entitled to as many electoral votes as the sum of its representationU.S. House of RepresentativesU.S. House of Senate

Wisconsin: 8 House members plus 2 senators = 10 electoral votesTotal:

435 House members 100 senators 3 electors for the District of Columbia= 538 electoral votes

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How are electors chosen?

In Wisconsin electors are chosen by the political parties state legislative candidates and state officers

2012, Wisconsin : 10 Electors. Population 2010 census: 5,363,675. 1,677,211 popular votes cast for electors pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Who are the Electors?

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Individuals selected in each state to officially cast that state’s electoral votes.

Wisconsin selects 10 electors to cast the state’s 10 electoral votes.

Framers anticipated that electors would be state leaders who would exercise good judgment.

Today, party leaders select electors who are typically long-time party activists.

Electors almost always vote for their party’s candidates.

Delegate Votes Divided

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Each state determines the manner of selection

All but two states use a winner-take-all delegates statewide election systemNebraska Maine

Everyone else (Including Wisconsin)If Candidate A gets the most votes in a state,

Candidate A gets the all of the delegates.

Voters and Electors

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Therefore, An Wisconsinite who votes for Obama is

really voting for a elector pledged to cast the state’s electoral votes for Obama.

Remember:In 2000, Bush won all of Florida’s 25 electoral

votes because the final official vote tally showed him ahead of Gore by about 600 votes.

The Real Election

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In December of election yearThe electors gather in their respective

state capitols to cast ballots for president and vice president.

In JanuaryCongress comes into sessionThey open the ballots received from each

stateThey announce the official outcome.

What if no one receives a majority?

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To win, a candidate needs a majority, 270 electoral votes.

If no candidate has a majority the House of Representatives selects the president from

among the three presidential candidates with the most electoral votes.

If this happens, each state has one vote. Happened only once!

1824 Congress chose John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay.

The Senate selects the vice president from the top two vice-presidential candidates.

Popular Vote v. the Electoral Vote

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In a close race, the popular vote winner may not win the electoral college. One candidate may win states by lopsided

margins while the other wins states by narrow margins.

Electoral vote winners who lost the popular voteBush over Gore in 2000

Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland in 1888

Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden in 1876

Criticisms of the Electoral College

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The popular vote winner may lose the presidency.

Electors may vote for persons other than their party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.

If no candidate receives a majority, Congress will pick the president and vice president.

Electoral College Reform Small group web act: (pp. 382 - 384)

You are responsible for the hi-lighted alternative:The District PlanThe Proportional PlanThe Direct Popular Election PlanThe National Bonus Plan

As a group choose one of the alternatives and explain (in writing) your rationale for this choice as well as how you will convince 3/4 of the states (most importantly the small states) to agree with it (remember, such a change will require a constitutional amendment)

Review Question

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North Carolina has 13 U.S. representatives. How many electoral votes does the state have?

Review Question

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Who are electors?

Review Question

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Does it matter whether a candidate carries a state by a few votes or a lot of votes?

Review Question

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What is the small state bias?