EBR - The Electoral College Lesson
The Electoral College Lesson
The Electoral College is a process that is used to elect the president and vice president to office every four years. Voters do not directly elect the president or vice president. Instead, they elect intermediaries called "electors". Electors pledge to vote for a particular presidential and vice presidential candidate, according to the laws of the state.
History of the Electoral College
A few of the Founding Fathers wanted to elect a president by popular vote, but others did not want to put that much power into the hands of the voters. Some of the Founding Fathers believed that Congress should elect the president. However, if Congress was responsible for electing a president, what would happen to separation of powers and checks and balances? As a result, the Founding Fathers compromised and created a special body of electors to be selected by the states. The number of electors would be equal to the total number of senators and representatives in each state. This meant that states with larger populations would have more electors than smaller ones.
The 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution outlines how a president and vice president are elected to office. The process requires that voters cast one vote for president and one for the vice president. The candidate that receives the majority of votes, or 270, wins the election. The 12th Amendment also explains what happens if the Electoral College fails to elect a president and vice president to office. If 270 votes are not received by either candidate, then the House of Representatives chooses the president. The vice president is chosen by the Senate if neither candidate receives the majority of votes.
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In the election of 2012, Obama defeated Romney by winning both the Electoral College and popular vote with 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.
Obama became the 11th president and 3rd Democrat to win a majority of the popular vote more than once.
Today, many people believe that the Electoral College is out-of-date and that presidents should be chosen by direct election, or by popular vote, just as members of Congress are elected to office. Critics also argue that the Electoral College is undemocratic and gives larger states more influence in electing the president and vice president over smaller states.
The 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was significant because the final results of the election were based on the outcome of electoral votes in the state of Florida. Florida is considered a major swing state because it has the 4th largest number of electoral votes in the United States (California is first, followed by Texas and New York). Therefore, the margin for victory in the 2000 presidential race triggered a recount in votes. Because of disputes that arose during the recount, the election of 2000 was decided by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Bush v. Gore. George W. Bush won Florida's electoral votes and won the election of 2000. The election was significant because it was the 4th election in United States history in which the winner failed to win a majority of the popular vote.
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|---|---|---|
| Party | Republican | Democratic |
| Home state | Texas | Tennessee |
| Running mate | Dick Cheney | Joe Lieberman |
| Electoral vote | 271 | 266 |
| States carried | 30 | 20 |
| Popular vote | 50,456,002 | 50,999,897 |
| Percentage | 47.9% | 48.4% |
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