Elections and the Electoral College
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Senate
- Originally chosen by State Legislatures
- Now elected by popular vote (17th Amendment, 1913)
President
- Date of beginning of term--20th Amendment (1933)
- Electoral College compromise
Electoral College
- Number per state--Representatives + 2
- Appointment of electors
- Initially by legislatures
- Now by popular vote
- Counting of votes in Congress
- Top vote getter is President
- #2 is Vice President
- Procedure if no majority--house picks
- One vote per state
12th Amendment (1804)
- Problems
- Adams and Jefferson in 1796
- Jefferson and Burr in 1800
- Solution
- Each elector votes for a President and a Vice President
Electoral College Problems
- History of electoral vs. popular Vote
- 1824--Jackson and John Q Adams
- Jackson won popular vote
- The "Corrupt Bargain"
- 1876--Tildon and Hayes
- Tildon won popular vote
- Disputed votes to Hayes
- 1888--Cleveland and Hayes
- Cleveland won popular vote
- Hayes won electoral vote
- 200--Gore and Bush
- 1824--Jackson and John Q Adams
- Winner-Take-All
- Close elections become landslides
- 3rd parties disadvantaged
Electoral College Today
- 538 electors
- 23rd Amendment gave D.C. 3 electors (1960)
- 270 to win
- Why not abolish it?
Copyright 2008,
by the Contributing Authors.
Cite/attribute Resource.
factpetersen. (2007, October 19). Elections and the Electoral College. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from Free Online Course Materials — USU OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.usu.edu/university-studies/u-s-institutions/elections-and-the-electoral-college.
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