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The Electoral CollegeThe Electoral College
The Electoral College The Electoral College and Federalismand Federalism
The electoral college reflects the federal nature of the Constitution because it ensures that the states have a role in selecting the president.
State Electoral State Electoral VotesVotes• Each state is entitled to as many electoral
votes as the sum of its representation in the U.S. House and Senate
• Ohio: 16 House members plus 2 Senators = 18 Electoral Votes (2012)
• Total: 435 House members plus 100 Senators (plus 3 electors from the District of Columbia) = 538 electoral votes
Selection of Selection of ElectorsElectors
•All but two states use a Winner-Winner-Take-AllTake-All statewide election system
•The candidate that gets the most votes (plurality) in a state, gets the whole slate of electoral votes.
•Maine and Nebraska award electors based on the statewide vote and the vote in each of the state’s congressional districts.
In each state, each party selects a slate of electors, hoping that they will be activated by voters in the general election.
Winner-Take-All
Voters and Voters and ElectorsElectors
• An Ohioan who votes for Obama is really voting for a slate of electors pledged to cast the state’s electoral votes for Obama.
• In 2000, Bush won all of Florida’s 25 electoral votes because the final official vote tally showed him ahead of Gore by 537 votes.
2000
Key EventsKey Events• General Election is held on the Tuesday after the first
Monday in November.• On the Monday after the second Wednesday in December,
the electors gather in their respective state capitols to cast ballots for president and vice president.
• On January 6, a joint session of Congress convenes, and the President of the Senate counts the ballots received from each state, and announces the official outcome.
• January 20 @ Noon- Inauguration
What if no one receives What if no one receives a majority?a majority?
• To win, a candidate needs a majority, that is, 270 electoral votes.
• If no candidate has a majority, the House selects the president. Each state delegation has one vote.
• This last happened in 1824 when Congress chose John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and William Crawford. It also happened in 1800.
• The Senate selects the vice president from the top two vice-presidential candidates.
The Popular Vote The Popular Vote versus the versus the
Electoral VoteElectoral VoteIn a close race, the popular vote winner may not win the electoral college. Electoral vote winners who lost the popular vote
• Bush over Gore in 2000• Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland in 1888• Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden in 1876• John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson in 1824.
Criticisms of the Criticisms of the Electoral CollegeElectoral College
• The popular vote winner may lose the presidency. (4x)
• Winner-Take-All (undemocratic?)• Electors may vote for persons other than
their party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates. (Faithless Elector)
• If no candidate receives a majority, Congress will pick the president and vice president.
Electoral Results Electoral Results
1960
1964
1968
1972
2000
2004
2008
2012
The 1960The 1960
World Series World Series
AndAnd
The Electoral CollegeThe Electoral College
In 1960, the Yankees outscored the Pittsburgh
Pirates, 55 to 27, and out-hit them, .338 to .256. They set
records for runs scored, hits, batting average, slugging
percentage, total bases, and RBI.
Yet the Pirates won the World Series on a home run in the ninth inning of the seventh
game. That home run came not from Pirate legend Roberto
Clemente but from their second baseman, Bill
Mazeroski.
1960 World Series1960 World Series
GamesGames
Pirates
Yankees
1
6
4
2
3
16
4
3
2
5
5
2
3
0
10
6
0
12
7
10
9
Runs
27
55
G’s
4
3
A very strange series indeed, as all three Yankee victories
were major blowouts, while the Pirates got good pitching and defense in three of their four
wins.
Task: Explain why the 1960 World Series outcome can
be used to make an argument for or against the
Electoral College.
NFL Team Total Offense Statistics NFL Team Total Offense Statistics 20112011
Team Points/Game
1. Green Bay 352. New Orleans 34.23. New England 32.14. Detroit 29.65. San Diego 25.4
30. Cleveland 13.6
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