The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November When you vote for your candidate you actually vote for your candidates electors The Electoral College consists of 538 electors ID: 575060
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Slide1
Electoral College
The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in NovemberWhen you vote for your candidate, you actually vote for your candidate’s “electors”Slide2
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors
270 electoral votes are required to win the presidencySlide3Slide4
Each candidate running has his or her own group of “electors” chosen by the candidate’s political
partyThe electors:Chosen by their political party in recognition for their service and dedication to their political partySlide5
The winning candidate in each state (except Nebraska and Maine) is awarded all the state’s electorsSlide6
No constitutional provision or federal law requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their states
There are some state restrictions/punishments, howeverThroughout history, more than 99% of electors have voted as pledgedSlide7
After the presidential election, each state governor prepares a “Certificate of Ascertainment” listing the winning presidential candidate and the electors that will represent the state
Certificates are sent to Congress and National ArchivesSlide8Slide9
Electors meet the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December after the presidential election in their respective states
They cast their votes for president and vice presidentSlide10
Early January of the year following the electors meeting, Congress officially counts the electoral votes
The Vice President (as President of the Senate) formally announces the vote
New President is elected January 20thSlide11
Why This System?
1. It puts a buffer between the population and the selection of a PresidentFounding Fathers were afraid of manipulation of public opinionSlide12
2. It is a compromise made by early Founders to satisfy the smaller states
Each state has the same number of electoral votes as they have representatives in CongressSlide13
Changing the Electoral College system would take a constitutional amendment ratified by ¾ of the states
It is possible in the future, that there could be a change to the “winner take all” mentality 48 states followSlide14
Close Elections
1800 (John Adams v. Thomas Jefferson)
1824 (John Q. Adams v. Andrew Jackson)
1876 (Rutherford Hayes v. Samuel Tilden)
1888 (
Grover Cleveland v. Benjamin
Harrison
)
1960 (
Richard Nixon v. John F. Kennedy
)
2000 (
Al Gore and George Bush
)