04/21/23 Political Science Module Developed by PQE1

The Electoral College

04/21/23Political Science Module

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Learning Objectives

Trace the history of the electoral college. Describe the role of the electoral college

in the presidential election process. Evaluate the electoral college, assessing

the validity of arguments offered by its critics and its defenders.

Describe and assess proposals for reforming the electoral college.

Assess the likelihood of electoral college reform.

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Key Terms

Electoral College Electors Political Legitimacy Winner-Take-All Election System Small State Bias Direct Popular Election

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True or False?

The candidate with the most votes is elected president.

Answer: Not necessarily. Ask Al Gore.

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The 2000 Election

The Popular VoteAl Gore 50,996,039George W. Bush 50,456,141

The Electoral VoteGeorge W. Bush 271Al Gore 267

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Historical Background

The framers of the Constitution disagreed on how to elect a president—congressional selection or direct popular election.

The electoral college was a compromise, combining features of both approaches.

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The Electoral College and Federalism

The electoral college also reflects the federal nature of the Constitution because it ensures that the states have a role in selecting the president.

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State Electoral Votes

Each state is entitled to as many electoral votes as the sum of its representation in the U.S. House and SenateTexas: 32 House members plus 2 senators = 34 electoral votesArkansas: 4 House members plus 2 senators = 6 electoral votesTotal: 435 House members plus 100 senators plus 3 electors for the District of Columbia = 438 electoral votes

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Electors

Individuals selected in each state to officially cast that state’s electoral votes.

Texas selects 34 electors to cast the state’s 34 electoral votes.

Framers anticipated that electors would be state leaders who would exercise good judgment.

Today, party leaders select competing slates of electors who are typically long-time party activists.

Electors almost always vote for their party’s candidates.

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Selection of Electors Each state determines the manner of

selection All but two states use a winner-take-all

statewide election system If Candidate A gets the most votes in a

state, Candidate A gets the whole slate of electors.

Maine and Nebraska award electors based on the statewide vote and the vote in each of the state’s congressional districts.

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Voters and Electors

A Texan who votes for Bush is really voting for a slate of electors pledged to cast the state’s electoral votes for Bush. In 2000, Bush won all of Florida’s 25 electoral votes because the final official vote tally showed him ahead of Gore by about 600 votes.

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The Real Election

In December, the electors gather in their respective state capitols to cast ballots for president and vice president. In January, Congress convenes, opens the ballots received from each state, and announces the official outcome.

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What if no one receives a majority?

To win, a candidate needs a majority, that is, 270 electoral votes.

If no candidate has a majority, the House selects the president from among the three presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. Each state delegation has one vote. This last happened in 1824 when Congress chose John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and William Crawford.

The Senate selects the vice president from the top two vice-presidential candidates.

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Popular Vote v. the Electoral Vote

In a close race, the popular vote winner may not win the electoral college. One candidate may win states by lopsided margins while the other wins states by narrow margins. One candidate may be helped by winning most of the smaller states, which benefit from the small-state bias caused by each state getting at least three electoral votes regardless of its size.

Electoral vote winners who lost the popular vote Bush over Gore in 2000 Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland in 1888 Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden in 1876

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Criticisms of the Electoral College

The popular vote winner may lose the presidency.

Electors may vote for persons other than their party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.

If no candidate receives a majority, Congress will pick the president and vice president.

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Political Legitimacy

Political legitimacy is the popular acceptance of a government and its officials as rightful authorities in the exercise of power.

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Political Legitimacy and the Electoral College

The proponents of the electoral college believe that it conveys legitimacy to the winner in most closely fought presidential elections. For example, Bill Clinton won 69 percent of the electoral vote in 1992 despite capturing only 43 percent of the popular vote. The electoral college gave Clinton the appearance of the majority support necessary to be an effective president.

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But don’t forget Florida

The 2000 election demonstrated that the electoral college can sometimes undermine a president’s legitimacy. Because of the electoral college, the outcome of the national presidential election was in doubt for more than a month even though one candidate enjoyed a clear popular vote plurality nationwide. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually determined the outcome of the election by halting the vote count in Florida.

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Proposals for Reform

Eliminate electors but still count electoral votes.

Select electors based on the proportion of the vote each candidate gets in each state.

Select electors by congressional districts with two electors chosen at large in each state.

Choose the president by direct popular election.

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Critique of the Reforms

Critics attack some reforms for not going far enough.

Critics attack other reforms because of the danger that they would produce unintended bad consequences.

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Will Reform Happen?

Amending the Constitution is not easy. Small states would be opposed to reform

because they benefit from the current system.

Groups that are concentrated in states with large numbers of electoral votes (such as Cuban Americans, Jewish Americans, urban residents, etc.) would be opposed to reform because it would diminish their influence.

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Review Question

North Carolina has 13 U.S. representatives. How many electoral votes does the state have?

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Answer

North Carolina has 15 electoral votes. The formula is the number of U.S. senators, which is two for each state, plus the number of U.S. representatives. Two plus 13 equals 15.

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Review Question

Who are electors?

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Answer

They are individuals selected in each state to officially cast that state’s electoral votes. Electors are typically long-time party activists who are selected by their state party organization as a reward for their loyalty to the party. In most states, electors are officially pledged to support their party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.

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Review Question

Does it matter whether a candidate carries a state by a few votes or a lot of votes?

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Answer

No. A candidate receives all of a state’s electoral votes whether the candidate carries the state by one vote or a million votes. In every state except Nebraska and Maine, the race is winner take all.

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Review Question

What is the small state bias?

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Answer

The electoral college has a small state bias because every state gets at least three electoral votes regardless of its population. As a result, small states such as Alaska, Wyoming, and South Dakota enjoy a greater percentage of electoral votes than they would merit based strictly on population.

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Review Question

Why would most Cuban American political leaders likely oppose replacing the electoral college with direct popular election?

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Answer

The electoral college gives Cuban Americans a disproportionate influence in national politics because of their concentration in the state of Florida, a state with a sizable number of electoral votes that is closely divided politically. Candidates for president cannot afford to ignore the political concerns of Cuban Americans because of their role in Florida elections.

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Discussion Question

Why didn’t the 2000 election trigger a major effort to reform the electoral college?

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Discussion Question

How does the electoral college impact candidate strategy in presidential election campaigns?

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Discussion Question

Do you favor or oppose replacing the electoral college with a different system for selecting a president? If you support reform, what sort of system would you prefer?