Electing the President
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Electors choose the president according to _____.
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rules & procedures specified in the Constitution
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How are electoral college members selected?
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by whatever means the state legislature chooses
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The electoral college reflects disagreement among the founders about how to choose the executive. How so?
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-some wanted direct popular election of the president -others wanted Congress or the state legislatures to do so -electoral college was the bargain struck between these competing preferences
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what was the founders' primary concern about direct election
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-more practical than philosophical: worried that voters would not have sufficient information about the candidates to make reasoned judgments because the long distances & slow communications in the new nation would make national campaigns difficult
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What amendments were adopted to address some of the criticisms of the electoral college?
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12th & 23rd (modest changes; basic legal structure & requirements of the process remain relatively unaltered)
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The Constitution calls for each state legislature to choose, by whatever means it desires, _____.
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a number of electors equal to its total number of senators & House members; members of Congress & those who hold other national offices are not eligible
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How many electoral votes are there, total?
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538: the sum of 100 senators, 435 House members, & 3 votes for DC, as mandated by the 23rd Amendment
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Where & when do electors meet?
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in their respective state capitals in December &, as mandated by the 12th Amendment, cast separate votes for president & vice president
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What happens after electors vote?
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votes are transmitted to the nation's capital, to be opened & counted in a joint session of Congress in January
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How many electoral votes does a candidate need to win president?
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an absolute majority of votes: 270/538
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Who announces the results of electoral votes?
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the incumbent vice president (presiding officer of the Senate) announces the outcome before the joint session of Congress -one candidate usually receives a majority of the electoral votes, & the vice president officially declares that candidate to be president
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What happens if no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes?
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the House of Representatives, voting by states, chooses the president from among the top 3 candidates -each state has 1 vote; the state's representatives collectively agree on how to cast that vote -a candidate must receive 26 votes, a majority, to be elected
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What happens if no vice presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes?
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the Senate, voting as individuals, elects the vice president from among the two highest candidates -an absolute majority, or 51 senators, is required to get elected
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How do states choose electors?
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-in each state & DC, the political parties nominate a slate of partisan electors -in November, citizens in each jurisdiction cast votes for president, but the voters are actually deciding which party's slate will win the right to cast the state's electoral votes -electors almost always vote for their party's nominee
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The electoral college violates the core democratic principle of ______ and ______.
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-political equality -has the potential to violate majority rule
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How does the basic structure of the electoral college violate political equality?
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because the value of a vote for president depends on where it's cast -because each state gets at least 3 votes, smaller states get more voting weight and the largest states less weight relative to their populations -about 12.1% of the nation's population resides in California, but that state only has 10.2% of the votes (55/538) -But Wyoming has about 0.18% of the nation's population, but has the minimum share of votes (3/538), which amounts to 0.56%
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How could political equality be achieved in the electoral college?
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each state's percentage of electoral votes must equal its percentage of the population
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Do electoral votes count more in some states than in others?
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Yes. In most cases, all of state's electoral votes go to the candidate who wins a plurality of the popular votes (winner-take-all) --> preferences of voters who supported a losing candidate aren't represented in the electoral college -votes in a large state has a much smaller weight in determining who wins electoral votes than votes cast in small states -1 vote out of more than 13 million cast in California has much less weight than 1 out of 250,000 cast in Wyoming
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Is the process used when no candidate has a majority in the electoral college a violation of political equality?
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Yes. The House votes state by state to select the president, so the decision is not made according to the "one person, one vote" principle
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How often has the ____ been called on when no candidate has a majority in the electoral college?
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(House) twice: in 1800 & in 1824
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Does the electoral college ensure the the majority will rule?
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No. 5 times in our history, the candidate elected did not get the most popular votes -this can occur even when each elector votes faithfully to their party; because electoral votes are allocated on a winner-take-all basis, regardless of how close or lopsided the vote is in the state -also because of the mathematical advantage of small states
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proportional plan alternative
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divide each state's electoral votes in proportion to the division of the popular vote
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district plan alternative
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allocates one electoral vote to the presidential candidate who receives a plurality in a House district; the state's remaining two electoral votes go to the candidate who wins a plurality statewide
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Which alternatives could be implemented without amending the Constitution?
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district & proportional
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district popular election plan alternative
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abolish the electoral college & permit voters in 50 states & DC to choose directly -only way to guarantee that the popular vote winner becomes president
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other alternatives to our electoral system
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-vote of no confidence -representation based on occupation -proportional representation
