• Americans have never voted for president

Electoral College

– We vote for Electors– System is a compromise between the Founders• Some feared an election based on popularity was too

dangerous • Some feared letting Congress elect the president • EC doesn’t allow a few large states to influence every

presidential election – Candidates must pay attention to all regions of the country

Electoral College

• Electors– A vote for a presidential candidate is actually a

vote for an Elector – People picked from a political party– Formula • Number of Reps plus number of Senators• Michigan: 2 Senators + 14 Representatives = 16 Electors• California: 2 Senators + 53 Representatives = 55 Electors

Electoral College

• The Process– November• Presidential election first Tuesday after the first

Monday in every four years

– December • Monday following the second Wednesday Electors

meet in their state capitals and vote for president and V.P.

– January• (6th) President of the Senate (the V.P. of the U.S.) opens

and reads the votes in front of Joint Session of Congress• (20th) at noon the candidate with most Electoral College

votes is sworn in as President

Electoral College

• 538 Total Electoral College votes• 270 needed to win the presidency• Winner Take All System– All Electors go to the candidate who wins the most

votes in that state• Congressional District Method– Electoral votes can be proportioned – 2 states: Maine and Nebraska

Electoral College

• A presidential candidate can win the popular vote (most votes), but lose the election– Has happened 4 times in U.S. history • Most recent: 2000 G.W. Bush and Al Gore• Popular vote totals

– Gore: 50,992,335– Bush: 50,455,156

• Gore has 500,000 + more votes, but Bush reached the 270 Electoral College mark by winning Florida

Electoral College

• Who won this election?• (red = Republican; blue = Democrat)

Electoral College

• Argument for– it keeps potential political alliances from occurring

between geographic regions • Ex: southern California and the eastern megalopolis

– Multiple metropolitan regions close together

Electoral College

• Argument for:– Candidates cannot ignore certain segments of the

country, as small states can influence the outcome of an election

– Ex: (don’t have to write down) • Candidate “B” has 264 EC votes• Needs 6 more to win the presidency• Wyoming (3) and North Dakota (3) are added

– 264 +6 = 270 = President of the United States

Electoral College

• Arguments against:– Electing a candidate who did not receive the most

votes– Less people will vote if they think they do not

directly elect the president– What if an Elector votes against the people’s

wishes?