The Electoral College: Pros/Cons/Alternatives

Directions: Answer 1-4 using your “Electing the President” packet 1. How many Electoral College votes are there total?  2. When voters go to vote for president every four years, they are not actually voting for the candidate on the ballot. For whom are they actually voting?  3. How many electoral votes does it take to win the Presidency?  4. How are the number of electoral votes in each state determined?  5. How many electoral votes does the state of Pennsylvania have?  6. What is the main difference between most elections and presidential elections?

Directions: Answer 1-5 using your “Electing the President” packet 1. How many Electoral College votes are there total?

 538

2. When voters go to vote for president every four years, they are not actually voting for the candidate on the ballot. For whom are they actually voting?

They are voting for their party’s slate of electors

3. How many electoral votes does it take to win the Presidency?

270/538 a simple majority

4. How are the number of electoral votes in each state determined?

 Combined number of a state’s 2 senators and members in the House of Representatives

5. How many electoral votes does the state of Pennsylvania have?

20

 

 6. What is the main difference between most elections and presidential elections?

•In most elections, the people vote directly for the candidate.

•In presidential elections, people vote for electors who cast their votes for the candidate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCjWPo70XZY

Electoral College

ASSIGNMENT

You and your group will carefully read one of six articles You will answer the following:Name of your plan? Explain your plan.

Next, write down the key arguments: pro/con of your plan on a sheet of chart paper.  You will explain your plan and present the pros and cons of your plan to the class.  The class will take notes based on your presentations.

Thursday, 3/26/15, Day 3Essential Skill: Explicitly Assess Information and Draw Conclusions

1-Presidential Project [Due: Tuesday, April 7]-8 points for each day your paper is late-8 points for each day you are not prepared to present

2- The Electoral College and Alternative Plans

3- “The President’s Secret Book”

 

Electoral College

Each state awards all of its electoral votes [except Nebraska and Maine] to the winner of that state’s popular vote [winner-take-all]

The candidate with 270 electoral votes wins.

Direct Election

The candidate who wins a simple majority of the nation’s popular vote wins.

Proportional PlanRetains the Electoral College, but awards the votes in each state based on the percentage of votes received in each state.  Each candidate would receive portion of each state’s electoral vote equal to his share of the state’s popular vote.

So a candidate who won 60% of the state’s popular vote in a state with 10 electors would get 6 electoral votes

District PlanEach state would choose its electors like it chooses its members of congress: 2 electors from each state at large: they would be required to cast their electoral vote in line with the popular vote in their state.

The state’s other electors would be chosen separately, in each of the state’s congressional districts.

The votes of these electors would be cast in accord with the popular votes in their districts [Maine and Nebraska have this] The plan preserves the Electoral College, but would eliminate the winner-take-all aspect.  Winner of a simple majority of the popular vote would be elected.

National Popular Vote 

States will give all of their electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote.

Seeks to get states that comprise a majority of the electoral votes: 270, to agree to award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. These states are not required to give their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner until the effort has garnered the number of states it needs to get the 270 electoral votes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6ZOiiMjIxE

National Popular Vote