Understanding the Electoral College: Key Questions and Concepts

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Background Essay Questions 1. Why do you think delegates to the Constitutional Convention might have had a difficult time deciding how to choose the president and the vice president? ○ They did not feel the people should decide who the president or the vice president would be. They felt like the people would not have enough information to make a good choice. For this reason they didn’t want a popular vote and decided on a system involving an electoral college. 2. How did the Electoral College help to overcome the delegates’ concerns about uninformed voters? ○ In this system the president and vice president are chosen indirectly (which is what they wanted). This system relied on the expertise of electors and didn’t give too much power to the people. It gave us a representative president and avoided too much power to one group. 3. How many electors does each state have? How does that help the small states? ○ All states get one electoral vote for each US Senator and House of Representatives. The smaller states would get at least 3 votes as a result. 4. According to the timeline, when is the President of the United States really chosen? ○ January 6 th 5. What happens if no one gets a majority of the electoral votes? ○ If no one obtains a majority, the US House of Representatives selects the president from the top three contenders. In that case, each state gets one vote. 6. Define these terms: ○ Direct popular vote: A system where the President is elected based on the greatest number of votes received from the citizens. ○ Electoral College: A system where the President and Vice-President are chosen. In the process, the states choose the winner. ○ Slate: Refers to a list of candidates who are running for different positions within a political party. ○ Electors: Individuals who are chosen to cast votes on behalf of the citizens in an electoral process. ○ Winner-take-all: Whoever has the most votes in the state wins the electoral college.

○ Majority: Refers to more than half of the total group. A candidate who receives more than 50% of the votes cast is said to have won the majority. ____________________________________________________________________________ TIMELINE 1787 - Constitutional Convention approves Electoral College system. 1788 - Constitution ratified 1800 - Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tie in the Electoral College. The election is decided in the House of Representatives 1824 - Election decided by House of Representatives. John Quincy Adams, who was second in the popular vote, elected. 1860 - Abraham Lincoln wins less than 40 percent of the popular vote, but wins in the Electoral College. 1876 - Rutherford B. Hayes loses the popular vote but wins the electoral vote. 1888 - Benjamin Harrison loses the popular vote but wins the electoral vote. 2000 - George W. Bush loses the popular vote but wins the electoral vote.

1. Which two states have the most electoral votes? How many do they have? ○ California-55 and Texas-38 2. What is the fewest number of electoral votes any state has? Why is this the smallest number any state can have? ○ 3 votes ○ Three is the minimum number of electoral votes a state can have. This accounts for 2 (Senators) votes from the Senate, and 1 (Representative) vote from the House Of Representatives. 3. Find your state on the map. How many electoral votes does your state have? ○ Nevada has 6 electoral votes. 4. Imagine a line drawn across the center of your map. Imagine another line drawn vertically down the center of your map. There would be four large regions of the United States. Could a candidate win if they had no support in any one of these regions? Explain. ○ Yes. A candidate could win without the support of one of these regions. For example, as I drew these imaginary lines I noticed the upper left side region (Northwest) would not make too much of a difference if they didn’t support the candidate. Their states numbers are relatively small, and they could win

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without their support. Also luckily the three larger states would be in different regions. 5. What is the smallest number of states a candidate could win and win the Electoral College? Remember: you need 270 votes to win. 12 states ○ 6. How could this document help support abolishing or keeping the Electoral College? ○ I feel like this document could be evidence that the Electoral College should be abolished. It doesn’t seem fair that the larger states have more say so than the smaller states. It almost makes the smaller states feel like their votes do not matter/don’t make a difference. An example would be that if a candidate won California, Texas, and Florida that would give them 122 electoral votes. They would only need 148 more to win. On the other hand we could use the same reasons to show the electoral is good to keep, because it showed the majority of votes/at least half chose the candidate.

1. What percentage of the popular vote did Reagan win in 1980? Carter? Anderson? What percentage of the electoral vote did each candidate win? ○ Reagan-50.7% popular vote, 69% electoral vote ○ Carter-41%popular vote, 31% electoral vote ○ Anderson-6.6% popular vote, 0% electoral vote 2. What percentage of the popular vote did Clinton receive in 1992? Bush? Perot? What percentage of the electoral vote did each candidate win? ○ Clinton-43% popular vote, 69% electoral vote ○ Bush- 37.5% popular vote, 31% electoral vote ○ Perot- 18.9% popular vote, 0% electoral vote 3. How would you describe the results of the popular vote in these two elections? How would you describe the results of the electoral vote in these two elections? ○ The popular vote in the 1980 election showed Reagan was the clear winner, with 50% of the votes. The 1992 election was a lot closer, but Clinton still had more votes for his victory. The electoral vote in 1980 showed Reagan as victorious with 91% of the votes. The electoral vote in 1992 was closer, but it still showed Clinton with the most votes- 69% versus 31%. 4. What effect does the Electoral College seem to have on the chances of a third-party or independent candidate?

○ It makes it very difficult for a third-party candidate or an independent candidate to win. 5. What benefit might a larger Electoral College majority give the person who wins the election? ○ They would have a greater chance to win the election. 6. How could this document help you argue for or against the Electoral College being abolished? ○ It is widely known that the Electoral College helps a candidate win. You are not able to win just by the popular vote alone- you need both. The electoral college has a say so, just like the American citizens do also. They would be an overall voice deciding if the government wants them elected or not. Some would argue they would rather the people decide who runs the country, and the electoral college is not as important as their voice.

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1. Does John Samples believe that government power should be increased or limited? ○ John Samples believed that government power should be limited. He believed the system is perfect the way it is and should be preserved (continue on). 2. Samples says that the Electoral College helps preserve the federalist structure of our government. What is a federalist structure? In Samples’ view, how does the Electoral College help preserve it? ○ Federalist structure: Divides power between a central government and local/state governments ○ It restrains power 3. Why does Mitch McConnell believe the inefficiency of elections is actually a positive thing? ○ Because it is a part of American history, and American prosperity. This imperfect system has been the key player of American political success. He also mentions it is necessary for a diverse nation. 4. Compare and contrast Samples’ and McConnell’s views about the Electoral College. ○ Samples and McConnell both have positive views about the Electoral College. Their views on the Electoral College differ slightly. Samples believes that the Electoral College is essential in maintaining a federalist government.

McConnell believes in the Electoral College and believes it’s inefficiencies have actually contributed to prosperity in America. 5. How could this document help you argue for keeping the Electoral College? ○ This document would be good evidence for wanting to keep the Electoral College. It quotes two people saying positive things about the Electoral College, and they have direct evidence of why the system is working.

1. What political principle does George Edwards say the Electoral College violates? How, according to Edwards, does it violate that principle? ○ It Violates political equality. ○ It is not a neutral counting device, and it favors some citizens over others. 2. Which has the larger population -- Illinois or the other 12 states listed in the chart and the District of Columbia combined? Which has more electoral votes? ○ Illinois has the larger population ○ The 12 states + DC has more electoral votes 3. How does the chart illustrate Edward’s point about political equality? ○ Well the chart shows that one state has 20 electoral votes- Illinois. It just doesn’t seem fair when you see how many each other state listed has. 4. How could you use this document to argue that the Electoral College be abolished?

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○ This document would be great evidence to show that the Electoral College should be abolished. It clearly shows how unbalanced the system is, and it favors one state over many others.

1. What does Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. say would happen if the Electoral College were abolished? Why does he think that is a problem? ○ He believes that it would speed up the breakdown of the already weakened two-party system. He believes it is a problem because it would encourage blind supporters and millionaires to run for president. 2. What does George Will mean when he says independent candidates could “splinter the electorate”? Why would this be important? ○ Take votes away unnecessarily or divide the vote. This is important because they want to show there is a clear winner. 3. Will says that the electoral vote produces a result that looks like “national decisiveness.” Why might the appearance of decisiveness be important? ○ It shows solidarity with the nation, and that everyone felt like that was the right candidate for the job/president. 4. Schlesinger and Will both mention “splinter” parties and candidates. How does each writer feel about such candidates? Compare their views. ○ Schlesinger believes that splinter parties would make it hard for majority party candidates to win popular vote majorities. Will believes that

independent candidates/splinter parties are discouraged because they splinter the electorate. He wants a winning margin/national decisiveness. 5. How could this document be used to support keeping the Electoral College? ○ Both authors agree that the Electoral College is a good thing for the country. They both list facts to support this reasoning. This document will show evidence of why the Electoral College should be kept.

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1. What is Plumer’s concern about a tie in the Electoral College? Why does he think this would be a bad outcome? ○ The vote would be decided by the House of Representatives. ○ It wouldn’t be fair to the smaller states- they would have less votes. 2. Plumer provides numbers to support his argument. How do these numbers show inequality? ○ He shows as an example that Wyoming would only have one vote compared to California who would have 55 votes. 3. How do you think voters would respond if the House of Representatives were to decide the outcome of a presidential election? ○ Voters would be very outraged! They would know it would come down to the larger states being the deciding factor. 4. How could this document help you argue for abolishing the Electoral College? ○ This document is evidence that the Electoral College should be abolished. If there is a tie is, then the evidence shows that the system would be unbalanced. It would take away the voice/power of the people.

1. What generalization can you make about these four presidential elections? ○ For the most part, the person who wins the electoral vote wins the presidential election. 2. From your general knowledge of how the Electoral College system works, what government body finally elected John Quincy Adams president in 1824? ○ House of Representatives 3. Explain how it is possible for a candidate like Hayes to lose the popular vote and win the election. ○ To win the presidential election a candidate needs to secure a majority of electoral votes. They don’t have to win the popular vote to win the presidential election. 4. How could this document be used to argue that the Electoral College should be abolished? ○ Because it shows that the winners did not win the popular vote, and still won the presidential election. It doesn’t seem like the peoples opinions matter with this evidence.

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