AP Gov Unit 3 Electoral College notes
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Do we use direct popular vote in the US?
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no
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What is the group of people called that elect the President of the United States?
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electoral college
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Who chooses the electors for the electoral college?
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-each candidate picks their own electors -states votes on which set of electors they want to represent them through popular/maj vote (Democratic or Republic) -whichever party receives popular votes, the state gets all of those electors (winner take all) -these electors will then vote in the electoral college in representation of each state's popular vote
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What process happens in the electoral college after the general election?
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-Gen Election (November) -EC places votes (December) -EC votes are sent to Congress by certain date (December) -Congress counts votes (January)
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in ____________ elections the candidate must receive at least 50% of votes
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majority
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in ____________ elections the candidate must receive the most votes
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plurality
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What kind of election is the electoral college?
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majority election
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What kind of election are most elections in the US?
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plurality
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Whoever receives the ________ votes in each state receives all of the electoral votes of that state. This is known as the winner take all system
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most (plurality)
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Whoever receives the ________ electoral votes in the general election wins the election
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majority
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How is the # of electoral votes each state is given determined?
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#House members + #Senate members (state's congressional representation)
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Which 4 states currently receive the most electoral votes?
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1- California (55) 2- Texas (38) 3/4- New York & Florida (29)
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What is the smallest number of votes any state can have?
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3 -DC has this many electoral votes -guaranteed under the 23rd amendment
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How many electoral votes does Michigan have?
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16
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How is the TOTAL # of electoral votes calculated?
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100 (# senators) + 435 (#House members) + 3 (DC Electors) = 538 (total #electoral votes)
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To be elected president a candidate must win at least ____ of the 538 electoral votes
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270 (majority)
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If none of the presidential candidates receive a majority of electoral votes who decides who the president and vice president will be?
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House of Reps chooses President Senate chooses Vice President
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T or F: it is possible for a candidate to receive a majority of the popular vote and still lose an election?
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T
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What are the only two states that don't have a winner take all system?
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Maine and Nebraska (different areas get certain amounts of electoral votes; can be split)
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What is a faithless elector?
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an elector who picks a different candidate than determined by the popular vote of the states (ex: state votes for Repub and elector votes for Dem candidate)
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Who was the only president to get all of the electoral votes in each state?
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George Washington
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How does the census affect the # of electoral votes each state receives?
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we do a census every 10 years which determines the population which indirectly determines the # of house and senate members which determines the electoral votes for each state
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In what presidential election will the # of electoral votes change?
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2024 (2020 would be 10 years but doesn't go in effect until next term which is 4 years later)
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How many times did the presidential election go to the house?
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4 times -Jefferson v Burr -1824: John Quincy Adams v Andrew Jackson (neither got majority vote, Adams won) -1876: Hayes v Tilden -1888: Harrison v Cleveland
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What happened in the 2000 election?
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the candidate with the popular vote lost (Bush beat Gore w/ more electoral votes)
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Polls show that these types of states are too close to call for elections. Also, Candidates focus more of their campaign time, visit more, and give more attention to these states bc they want to get their support in the general election:
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battleground states
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What determines how the electors of a state will vote?
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popular vote
