popular vote ◦ al gore (d) 51,003,926 (48.38%) ◦ george w. bush (r) 50,460,110 (47.87%) ...
Post on 17-Dec-2015
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2000 Presidential Election Popular Vote
◦ Al Gore (D) 51,003,926 (48.38%)◦ George W. Bush (R) 50,460,110 (47.87%)
Electoral Vote◦ George W. Bush (R) 271 (50.4%)◦ Al Gore (D) 266 (49.4%)
(*1 “faithless elector”) Lost the Popular Vote But Won
Anyway…◦ 2000 (Bush), 1888 (Harrison), 1876 (Hayes), 1824
(Adams)
The Electoral CollegeThe 538 People Who Actually Elect the
President…Yeah, seriously.
Electors: Each state has electors equal to number of senators and number of representatives. These electors are chosen by the Republican and Democratic parties of each state.◦ Pennsylvania: 2 senators + 18 reps. = 20 electors◦ Most Electoral Votes: California (55)◦ Least Electoral Votes: all states with 3 (ND, DE, etc.)
A presidential candidate must win a majority of the 538 electoral votes, which is 270.
This system is in the Constitution. WHY?◦ Founders didn’t trust the regular people to elect the
President.◦ It was 1789 (no internet, etc.): could regular people
really make an informed decision?◦ Federalism: give small states a voice.
How It Works
Electoral Votes after the2010 Census
2008 Pennsylvania:Obama: 53%McCain: 46%
ALL of Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes went to OBAMA.
For Example…
Isn’t this a democracy? ◦ Winning the popular vote does not ensure
winning the electoral vote (and thus the presidency). (4 times)
◦ If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, then the House of Representatives chooses the President from the top 2 candidates. (2 times)
The “Faithless Elector”? (Are you serious?)◦ Electors do NOT have to follow the popular vote
of their state. (10+ times)
Flaws/Defects
Keep the Electoral College, BUT…◦The District Plan: elector from each congressional district must follow the popular vote of the district.
◦The National Plan: states would force their electors to vote for the winner of the NATIONAL popular vote.
Direct Popular Election: voters directly elect the president. (DUH?!)◦This would require a constitutional
amendment to get rid of the Electoral College.
Possible Alternatives
Republicans inthe state arepushing for thistype of plan (instead of thewinner-take-allsystem we currently have):
A Look at theDistrict Plan
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