Sept 13 – Gov – The Electoral
College
Agenda:
 Making a
Connection
 Notes: The
Electoral College
 How super is it?
Homework:
 Page 224-234
 Begin Ch 7 SG
Take out:
 Pen/Pencil
 Notebook
Goals:
 Understand the
function of the
electoral college
Campaign 2008 Timeline
1.
2.
3.
4.
Declaration
Nomination
National
Convention
Fall Campaign
4.
5.
6.
7.
Election Day
Meeting of
electors
Formal Election
Inauguration Day
Nomination Phase to win…delegates to
Fall Campaign
Link to video
Establishing a Connection:

What is the relationship between the
electoral college and what is written on
your PostIt note?
Going to
College. . .
The Constitutional
mechanism for indirectly
electing the President of the
United States of America
How it used to work…




Electors vote for two people – President and VP
POTUS = most votes
VPOTUS = second most votes
12th Amendment changed the Electoral College to the way
it works today.
Winner take All*

Whoever wins a plurality of the votes in
each state wins ALL of their electoral
votes.

*Exceptions…


Nebraska and Maine awarded by Congressional
Districts
Sometimes there are ‘faithless electors’
Minnesota’s Electoral Shenanigans



Minnesota had a ‘faithless
elector’
One elector cast his
Presidential elector vote
for ‘John Edwards’
For President



For Vice-President



Kerry – 9
Edwards – 1
Edwards – 10
26 states have laws
against, MN doesn’t
Other faithless electors
Who are the electors?

# of electors = # of Representatives + # of
Senators




(however the Reps and Senators are NOT the
actual electors)
WA DC gets 3 by viture of Amendment 23
chosen by the party as a reward for longtime support & loyalty to their party
In some states the names of the electors
appear on the ballot
January 6, 2005



EVs have to arrive in DC by the fourth
Wednesday in December
Vice President of the US presides over the
counting of the Electoral Votes in a joint session
of Congress
Then, and only then, has the United States
officially elected the President of the US
EV Magnifying the Popular Vote
% of pop vote
% of EV
2008 – Obama
53%
68%
2004 – Bush
51%
53%
2000 – Bush*
48%
50%
1996 – Clinton
49%
70%
1992 – Clinton
43%
69%
1988 – Bush
53%
79%
1984 – Reagan
58%
98%
Is the Electoral College Equitable?
Size
Rank
2010 Pop.
Pop per
Senator
Pop. per
Elector
1
California
37,253,956
18,626,978
677,344
2
Texas
25,145,561
12,572,781
661,725
3
New York
19,378,102
9,689,051
668,210
4
Florida
18,801,310
9,400,655
648,321
20
Wisconsin
5,363,675
2,681,838
536,367
21
Minnesota
4,919,479
2,459,740
491,947
30
Iowa
2,926,324
1,463,162
487,720
46
S. Dakota
754,844
377,422
251,614
47
Alaska
626,932
313,466
208,977
48
N. Dakota
642,200
321,100
214,066
49
Vermont
608,827
304,414
202,942
50
D.C.
572,059
Taxation without
Representation
190,686
51
Wyoming
493,782
246,891
164,594
Ok…now evaluate.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best,
how SUPER is our electoral process?
Explain your
answer.
amount of attention the Bush
and Kerry campaigns gave
to each state during the final
five weeks of the 2004
election.
•each waving hand = a visit
from a presidential or vicepresidential candidate during
the final five weeks of the
election.
•each dollar sign represents
one million dollars spent on
TV advertising by the
campaigns during the same
time period.
•Data from FairVote's report,
"Who Picks the President?"
In Plain English