Electing the President

Review: Representatives

Options for electing president

1. Congress votes

2. Direct popular vote

Compromise: electoral college system› # of electors from each state equal to # of

members in congress Why did the founders of the U.S. choose

to set up an electoral college system?

Original Electoral College System

Founders of U.S. feared that citizens would not know enough about candidates to make a wise decision› Lack of information

Plus, the most popular candidate might not be the best…

Electoral College system Today

Popular vote- deceiving

The candidate that wins the popular vote does not always win the electoral college vote.

EX: 2000 election

Popular vote vs. electoral college

George W. Bush, Republican › Popular vote: 50,460,110 (47.87%)› Electoral college vote: 271 (50.4%)

Albert Gore Jr. , Democrat › Popular vote: 51,003,926 (48.38%) › Electoral college vote: 266 (49.4%)

How is this possible?

“Winner Take All” system (every state except Maine and Nebraska)

› Example: in 1992, over 2 million people in Texas voted for Clinton, but since Bush got more votes in Texas, Bush got all of Texas’s electoral votes and Clinton did not get any.

So why not get rid of it??

Eliminating the electoral college would weaken the federal system by taking power away from the states

Candidates would only focus on the most populous cities like New York and L.A., while ignoring the rest of the country.

p. 222 chart- discussion questions

Approx. how much time passes between election day and inauguration day?

What presidents, other than Bush, were elected despite losing the popular vote?

Is this method of electing the president still valid in today’s society?

Written response: one paragraph

Do you think the United States should continue to use the Electoral College system to select the president? Why or why not? Use examples from the lecture and discussion to support your claim.