The Electoral College
Craig Grimm
ED 639
Electoral College - 12 Grade Government
1) What is the Electoral College?
2) Why was it created?
3) Does it work?
Indirect v. Direct Voting
• A direct voting system
allows citizens to
actually cast their vote
for elected officials.
• EX: Local Elections
• An indirect voting
system allows citizens
to vote for a panel
who will then cast
their vote for an
elected official.
• EX: Electoral College
What is the Electoral College??
• The Electoral College is a group of
representatives elected through the
popular vote.
• These electors represent individual
states in electing the President of the
United States
Historical Importance
of the Electoral College
• Established in the Constitution of the
United States in an attempt to create a
representative voting system.
• Larger states have a larger electoral
vote in order to maintain a percentage
based voting system.
Did our founding
fathers have faith that
the American people would
make wise decisions when
electing the President??
How many Electors
for each State?
• Each state has a set number of
Electors determined by adding the
number of Senators (2) with the
number of Representatives in the
House.
• Washington DC has 3.
WHY?
• Ohio has 18
Representatives
in the House, plus 2
Senators.
• Ohio has 20
Electoral College
votes.
How are Electors Selected?
• Each candidate selects their own
electors for each state.
• The candidate who receives the most
popular votes in a state will win its
electors. (Exception: Maine and
Nevada)
Ohio - 20 Electoral Votes
•
•
•
•
George W. Bush
Al Gore
Ralph Nader
Pat Buchanan
- 20 Electors for OH
- 20 Electors for OH
- 20 Electors for OH
- 20 Electors for OH
• The Winner of each state sends
only his Electors to vote for the
President.
• Each set of electors
meets in their respective
state capitols to cast
their vote.
• The electors meet on the Monday
after the 2nd Wednesday in
December of Presidential election
years to vote.
• President of the
Senate (VP) counts
the official votes.
Winning in the Electoral College
• There are 538 total electoral college
votes.
• A majority of the electoral vote is
needed to win.
• 270 electoral votes are needed to win.
Winning in the Electoral College
• If a majority is not won, no candidate
is awarded the Presidency. The House
of Representatives will then vote to
determine who the winner is.
• Each state has 1 vote, and the reps
from that state must determine how
their state will cast their vote.
DOES THE
ELECTORAL
COLLEGE WORK ??
Vs.
Problem #1 - Population
California
New York
Texas
Florida
-
54
33
32
25
Penn. Illinois Ohio Mich. -
23
22
21
18
• 8 States = 223 Electoral College Votes
Problem # 2 - Small States
• Are less populated states given
equal representation without the
Electoral College?
• Should they be given equal
representation?
What is the SOLUTION?
Student Related
Activities
1) Register to Vote - Students will work online and visit the
sites specific web sites in order to register to vote. Each
student will complete the appropriate form and print an
additional copy to turn in at the end of class.
2) US Constitution Worksheet - Students will use this primary
document to determine the rights guaranteed to various
individuals and organizations. Students will complete the
worksheet by listed what Article and what Section each
statement was originated.
• Electoral College Map - Each student will evaluate the
Electoral College map from the 2000 Presidential Election
and answer a series of questions regarding its validity,
usefulness, and their personal opinion of the process.
• Bonus Quiz - Students will attempt to answer VERY
difficult questions concerning previous Presidential
Elections. Completion of this assignment will take
considerable research on the part of the students, and each
question answered correctly will earn that student 1 bonus
point.
• Mini Research Project - Each student will prepare a 3-5
page research project on one of the 43 presidents, and will
be required to present that material to the rest of the class.
Each paper should include biographical information,
success and/or failure in the election process, and various
interesting facts about his Presidency.
Electoral College Websites
• The Electoral College http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/
This web site includes interactive maps, charts and
graphs that will help to develop understanding of the
Electoral College.
• Why the Electoral College? http://.yahoo.com/ask/20001020.html
This site answers basic questions about the foundation
and usefulness of the Electoral College. It also shows
distributions of electoral college votes over the 50 states.
• Does it Work? - http://www.presidentelect.org/
This is an excellent site that allows the reader to
investigate freely the concepts of the Electoral College,
and ask questions if necessary.
• CNN Presidential Coverage http://www.cnn.elections.com
CNN has established a very effective web site that
deals with the controversial issues of the 2000 election.
• Electoral College Breakdowns http://www.state.us/electoralvotes.htm
Maps of both state EC distributions and the
breakdowns of past Presidential Elections.