HOW WE ELECT OUR PRESIDENT

DOES YOUR VOTE COUNT??

The Electoral College

Process of electing your President

Can be complicated, but is extremely importantFounders didn’t trust the average voter- did not

want a direct election- wanted Pres to be voted by elite Also small/large states balance

Formed electoral college with electorsMany citizens were turned off after the 2000

election (candidate with the most votes didn’t become President- do votes even count?)

Electing the President clip

1. Popular vote- vote of the people2. Electoral college meets to cast votes (votes

for who wins in their state)If no candidate gets a majority, the House

votes

E.C. Basics

Article II (the Executive Branch) covers the process for electing the President & VP.

The number of E.C. votes a state has is determined by adding the number of Senators & Representatives.

Therefore…

E.C. Basics

What is the fewest number of Electoral Votes a state could have?

Three—Each state has at least one Representative and two Senators.

Doing some quick math…

E.C. Basics

Therefore, the states with small populations are only going to have three E.C. votes.

Random: the states with three votes areAlaska, Montana, North Dakota, South

Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming

E.C. Basics

In contrast, the states with large populations have a large chunk of E.C. votes and

therefore get a ton of attention, especially if they are thought to be a “toss up” state.

Random II: the ten states with the most E.C. votes are (in order) California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio,

Michigan, Georgia & North Carolina.

E.C. Basics

On election day, a candidate concentrates on how he/she does within each state, not the nation overall.

In other words, candidates worry about winning individual states (like the toss ups and the states in which their party always does well).

E.C. Basics

There are 538 Electoral Votes total.

House of Reps= 435 US Senators= 100+ Washington DC 3 (Thanks to the 23rd Amendment,

as they have no reps in Congress)_____________

Total 538

E.C. Basics

In order to win an election, a candidate needs

at least 270 E.C. votes.

½(538)=269, so 270 is one more than half.

Before Election Day

Each party that appears on each state’s ballot submits a list of potential Electoral College voters who will cast a ballot if their party wins the state.Who are these people? Donors, workers, party VIPs

After Election Day

1. When each state’s popular vote winner is declared, the submitted list of E.C. voters will go to each state capitol to officially cast their ballots.

2. Each state’s popular vote winner gets ALL of that state’s E.C. votes. The system is “winner take all.”

This hurts third parties’ chances!

After Election Day

Overly simplistic example:1. On election day, 11 Michiganders vote. 2. Six vote for the Republican candidate &

five vote for the Democrat.3. Because the Electoral College is winner

take all, the Republican wins ALL 17 E.C. votes from Michigan.

4. What if there was a 3rd party?

Interesting E.C. Scenario #1

I know the 1st thing that just popped into your head:

“What happens if no candidate gets 270 Electoral Votes?”

The House of Reps decides the election. Each state would get one vote to

determine the president. This occurred in 1800 (Jefferson vs. Burr) and 1824 (J.Q.

Adams vs. Jackson—the Corrupt Bargain!!)

Interesting E.C. Scenario #2

I know the 2nd thing that just popped into your head: “Can a candidate win the popular vote & still

lose the election? How is this possible?”

A candidate can win the popular vote & still lose overall if he/she does not win the right states. The national popular vote does not matter. This happened four times: 1824, 1876 (Hayes vs. Tilden), 1888 (Harrison vs. Cleveland) & 2000 (Bush vs. Gore).

Other crazy E.C. stuff

Two states (Maine & Nebraska) vote by congressional district instead of winner-take-all.

About half of the states require by law that the E.C. Voters cast their ballots to match that state’s popular vote. Therefore, there are half of the states that don’t have such a law.

Add up the E.C. votes for the top ten states. Guess what number you get?

270!EC Clip

Alternatives

Over 700 changes have been proposedNebraska/Maine

Assign one elector to the winner of the Congressional district, and two remaining electors to the candidate with the most votes statewide

More fair than winner-take-all?

Popular Vote People not educated How much power should small/large states have?

Checks on Presidential power

Founders built in checks and balances

Congressional Limitations- Congress can override a

veto Congress- power of the

purse (controls funding) Impeachment Senate must approve

appointments

Checks on Presidential Power

Judicial checksSupreme Court reviews Prez’s actionsSets limits on executive privilege (Court demanded Nixon

turn tapes in, Clinton argued he should be immune from lawsuits)

Political limitations Public opinion, media

WORKERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The Bureaucracy

What is Bureaucracy? – Chapter 19

General definition: An organization that

is structure in a pyramid fashion an in which everybody (except the person at the top) reports to at least one other person

Executive-Level Departments—pp.506-507

The CabinetIndependent

Agencies The Regulatory

Agencies Independent

Executive Agencies

Government Corporations

The Cabinet

15 DepartmentsHeaded by Secretary

(except for Justice Department)

Secretaries appointed by President with

consent of the SenateManage policy areas

& report to President

The Independent Executive Agencies

Not part of any cabinet department

Are under the President’s control,

though the President’s attention

increases/decreases along with the issue’s

visibility.Examples: CIA, GSA,

National Science Foundation, FEC, Small Business Admin., NASA

The General Services

Administration

monitors government

spending

The Independent Regulatory Agencies

“Regulate private activity and protect the public interest.” (511)

Creates rules=“Quasi-legislative” act just like a legislative

bodies when issuing policies, which have the effect of law.

Quasi-judicial act like a judge when

enforcing penalties for violating regulations

The Independent Regulatory Agencies (cont.)

Some Examples:Interstate Commerce

Commission (ICC)Federal Trade

Commission (FTC)Food and Drug

Administration (FDA)Federal

Communications Commission (FCC)

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Federal Reserve Bank

Government Corporations

Businesses owned by the federal government because they would be too inefficient for private industry to manage

Rare in a capitalist system (we avoid too much government interference when possible)

Examples: AMTRAK USPS FDIC TVA