Electoral College
Video
► http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8I
7g6I
► http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTbvYG
H_Hiw
► Khan Academy
History of Electoral College
► In
1787, Founding Fathers wanted elite men
in society to run the country.
► Were afraid that Congress would be bribed
or influenced by candidates, and did not
trust them, that is why Constitution puts
strict limits on Congress.
► Were afraid that direct popular vote by
ignorant, uneducated, uninformed masses
could lead to people voting in the wrong
person or could elect a dictator. Also filter
passion and prejudices of the masses
History cont.
► The
Fathers compromised to create the
Electoral College, which also helped the
smaller states in allowing them to have say
in a national election (Federalism).
► Also, there was only 13 states and around 4
million people, so it was difficult to count all
the votes and get information and
communication so an electoral college was
not a bad alternative for that time.
What is the Electoral College
System that elects our
President and VicePresident
► President is not elected
by direct popular vote.
(4 people have won
popular vote but not
presidency)
► Electors are granted
from each state based
on the number of House
of Representative
members plus Senators
►
Electoral College Cont.
► D.C.
also gets 3 votes
(22nd amendment)
► Votes are added up on
election day and the
candidate receiving the
most popular votes
(does not have to be
majority) wins all the
electors from that
state. Winner-take-all
system (Except for
Maine and Nebraska)
Electoral Votes
► Candidate
that wins the Presidency must
win a majority 270 out of 538 possible
votes.
► If not a majority, election determined by
majority vote in the House, with one vote
per state. Vice-President is elected in
senate with each senator getting one vote.
► A candidate could win the 11 most populous
states, lose the other 39, and still win
enough electoral votes to win the
Presidency
States and Electoral College
► State
legislatures select their own electors,
based on their own rules, helping to guarantee
them a role in the national election.
► Some states will most always vote a certain
way: California, New York, Texas
► However, some states are swing/battleground
states which mean that they are up for grab
and any candidate could win. Most candidates
will spend a majority of their time in these
states trying to win their votes.
Electors
► Have
not other delegates have no other
lawmaking powers, so they could not be
bribed or influenced
► Electors meet on the First Monday after the
second Wednesday in December to vote.
They vote at their state capitals. Votes are
then counted before a joint session of
congress on January 6th.
Alexander Hamilton
Federalist paper #68
► They
have not made
the appointment of the
President to depend on
any preexisting bodies
of men who might be
tampered with
beforehand to
prostitute their votes.”
Arguments for/against
Electoral College
Arguments For
1. Electoral College
contributes to political
stability in the United
States by encouraging
only a two-party system
2. Increases the Power of
the States
3. Allows a buffer from
government agency
choosing and from mass
of public voting
Arguments against
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Hinders the numbers of parties
that are able to compete in
elections
Take states for granted when
states consistently voter for
one party
Winner-take-all nature of state
elections renders some votes
essentially meaningless
Depresses voter turnout
because voter turnout is
irrelevant to the number of
electoral votes.
Rogue Electors are always
possible.
Changing the Electoral College
1.
Proportional
Representation/Parliament
ary System- When the
people vote for
legislatures, and the party
who wins the most seats
in the legislature get to
install a President (Prime
Minister). Encourages 3rd
parties but not direct
popular vote. Prime
Minister President may be
removed at anytime by
Legislature without
consent of constituents.
1.
Direct Popular
Vote/Majority VoteMore candidates will
run, making it harder
to win a majority.
This would mean
runoff elections, more
time, confusion,
money, and wheeling
and dealing from
candidates who won
for endorsements of
the candidates who
lost
Unit 5, Chapter 17
Elections and Voting
Section 1: Election Campaign
Mr. Young
American Government
Essential Question
► What
are the basis elements of a
presidential campaign?
► Why and what were the purposes of the
Federal Election Campaign Acts being
passed?
Voting and You Video
► http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KBo7vz
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Electing the President
► Most
election laws are
passed at the state
level and happen at
polling places
► President is elected
every Tuesday after
the first Monday, every
4 years in even
numbered years in
November
Electoral Votes and the State
►
►
►
►
To be elected President, a
candidate must win 270 of
the 538 available electoral
votes
Electoral College votes=
number of Representatives
plus the number of
Senators
Candidate who usually wins
the greatest number of
popular votes usually wins
the presidency
Emphasizes larger states,
win 11 largest states and
that person gets the
Win Popular vote, not Presidency
► In
prior elections, four U.S candidate for President
won the popular vote but lost the presidency:
Andrew Jackson won the popular vote but lost the
election to John Quincy Adams in 1824; Samuel J.
Tilden won the popular vote but lost the election
to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876; Grover Cleveland
won the popular vote but lost the election to
Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and Al Gore won the
popular vote but lost the election to George W.
Bush in 2000
Top 5 Biggest Electoral States
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
California- 55 (last 5 elections voted Dem)
Texas- 38 gained 4(voted Rep 9/10
elections)
New York- 29 loses 2 (voted dem in last 6
elections)
Florida- 29 gain 2 (Voted Rep in ’72, 8092, ’00-04; Dem in ’76, ’96, ’08)
Pennsylvania- 21 loses 1 (Voted Dem last
5 elections)
Kentucky and Electoral College
Kentucky has 8 electoral
votes
► Since the 1950s, Kentucky
has been reliably
Republican, although its
voters have been willing to
vote Democratic when a
southern governor has run
– the state voted for
Jimmy Carter in 1976 and
for Bill Clinton in both
1992 and 1996. In 2008,
John McCain defeated
Barack Obama 57% to
41%.
►
Campaign Strategy
► Candidates
must
appeal to a broad
variety of voters to win
as many states as
possible
► Campaign managers,
who is responsible for
overall strategy and
planning, usually lead
the presidential
campaign during
elections
Television
► TV
is the most
important
communication tool for
a presidential
candidate, and also the
most costly item
► Use TV to build up
candidates image,
metal picture to
audience, and package
them to the voters
Internet and Campaign
► Internet
is a good tool
for finding information
on a candidate
► Almost every candidate
has a website, where
you can find how they
stand on issues, and
where you can also
contribute
Money and the Election
First two Presidents to
really start the spedning
spree was Richard Nixon
and George McGovern
raised $91 million dollars
on the general presidential
election, more than triple
what had previously been
spent
► 2004, presidential and
congressional candidates
spent total of $3.9 billion
►
Congressional Money Spending
► Jon
Corzine spent $65
million of his own
money on a New
Jersey Senate seat
Congressional Spending
► Average
► Average
Senate seat is $7.2 million dollars
House seat is more than $1 million
dollars.
► Estimated that between ½ to 2/3 of Senators are
millionaires (68 in 2008)
► In 2008 average net worth of US Senators was
almost $14 million
► In 2008 average net worth of Representatives was
$4.6 million dollars (240 in 2008)
► Next is Top 25 Wealthiest Senators and
Representatives in 2008
Money Raised for 2012 Election
Barack Obama
$99,597,681
Mr. Obama expanded his fundraising lead, ending September with more cash on hand
than the entire Republican field.
Mitt Romney
$32,605,827
1st of 9 Republican Candidates* as of September 30, 2011
Mr. Romney has spent nearly twice as much as money as any other Republican
challenger.
Regulating Campaign Financing
► Federal
Election Campaign Act (FECA) of
1971- require public disclosure of each
candidate’s spending, provide federal
funding for presidential elections, prohibit
labor unions and business organizations
from making direct contributions, and limit
how much each individual and groups can
contribute
Federal Election Commission
► Created
the Federal
Election Commission
(FEC)- independent
agency in executive
branch to administer
federal election laws
► Has limited individual
contributions to
candidates, but
unconstitutional to
limit overall total cost
of campaign
Public Funding
► Presidential
Election Campaign Fundprimary campaigns and general elections
but must agree to limit their total campaign
spending and private donations
► ’76-’04, all major parties accepted this,
except GWB in ’00, it was $81.4 million in
‘08
► 3rd parties may receive funding if they got
5% of pop vote in former election
Private Funding
► Bulk
of campaign funding comes from the
private sector
► Limits direct contribution for individual at
$2,500, may contribute $5,000 to PAC
► Political Action Committees (PAC)- an
organization formed by interest groups to
collect money and provide financial support for
political candidates; direct contribution is
$5,000 to the candidate and $15,000 to the
national party
► PAC’s contribute more than 5 times as much
money to incumbents as to their challengers
2008 Election and PAC’s
►
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
In the 2008 elections, the top 9 PACs by money spent by themselves,
their affiliates and subsidiaries were as follows:
IBEW PAC $3,344,650
AT&T Federal PAC $3,108,200
American Bankers Association (BANK PAC) $2,918,140
National Beer Wholesalers Association PAC $2,869,000
Dealers Election Action Committee of the National Automobile Dealers
Association $2,860,000
International Association of Fire Fighters $2,734,900
International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Political Education
Committee $2,704,067
American Association for Justice PAC $2,700,500
Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) PAC
$2,555,350
Private Funding cont.
► Issue
advocacy
advertising- urges
voters to support a
particular issue, such
as gun control or
health care
► Will often contain
candidate’s name or
image, but will not say
vote for or against a
candidate
McCain-Feingold Bill
► Bipartisan
Campaign
Reform Act (BCRA)targeted the use issue
advocacy ads and softmoney donations to
national political parties
► Soft money- donations
given directly to political
parties by PAC or
individuals for general
purposes, such as voter
registration drives,
party mailings, and
political advertisements
BCRA cont.
► Banned
all soft-money
donations to political
parties, but raised
individual contributions
► Prohibited unions,
corporations, and
nonprofit groups from
running ads aimed at
candidates within 30
days of primary
election and 60 days of
general
Citizens United vs. Federal
Election Commision (2010)
Overturned BCRA by
saying that it was a
violation of Freedom of
speech for placing limits
on independent spending
for political purposes by
corporations and unions.
► Also allowed corporations
to show ads mentioning a
candidate within 60 days
of general and 30 days of
primary.
►
Campaign Law and Internet
► Web
site operators
must identify
themselves online,
even if they are acting
as individual citizens
► Web sites operating
independently of
official campaigns
must register with FEC
if they spend $250 or
more on the site