Role of the Electoral College Political Science I

Role of the Electoral CollegePolitical Science I

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Why did the Founding Fathers organize an Electoral College?


The Electoral College

• The purpose of the Electoral College is to elect the President and the Vice President of the US• The Constitution delegates to states the authority to appoint

individuals (electors) using a process that is determined by the states legislatures

• Before 1804 each elector was permitted to cast two electoral votes• The candidate that received the largest majority of votes would

become President of the US; the second would become Vice President of the US

• The Electoral College votes are counted and certified by a joint session of Congress before inauguration day on January 20th

• This process was changed in 1804 when the US ratified the 12th Amendment to the US Constitution


The Electoral College (continued)

• The Founding Fathers wanted to limit the number of officials that were directly elected by citizens• The framers effectively limited voting rights of a majority of

citizens• Most state constitutions had limited voting to a small proportion

of the American population of this time: property-owning, white, male citizens

• This gave individual states a key role, because states would select electors equal to the number of representatives it had in the House of Representatives and the Senate

• According to Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 68, the Electoral College was created to avoid “tumult and disorder” (O’Conner, Sabato and Yanus, 2011, p. 43)


By the Numbers

• The total number of electors equal the Electoral College• For each state it is equivalent to the number of senators and

representatives that state has in the US Congress• The District of Columbia is allowed 3 electoral votes

• The total number of electoral votes is currently 538• In 1788, there were a total of 81 electors in the Electoral College

• The number of electors is addressed every ten years, after the US participates in a census

• Therefore, the Electoral College is altered every ten years because of the shifting population in the US• Reapportionment is simply the reallocation of the number of seats in

the House of Representatives


By the Numbers (continued)

• How the framers decided the number of electors• The Virginia Plan• The New Jersey Plan

• The Great Compromise• Occurred after much debate between the Founding Fathers, who

eventually decided to compromise and combine the two plans • Took qualities from both the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan• These qualities include: a bicameral legislature, an Executive and a

Judiciary• Together the members in the House of Representatives and the Senate

make up the electors in the Electoral College• Although the Electoral College was not established as a part of the Great

Compromise, it later laid the foundation for the Founding Fathers when they drafted the US Constitution


What are some historical challenges made toward the Electoral College?


Designed To Work Without Political Parties• The Founding Fathers expected partisanship to

have little influence over the Electoral College• The fourth presidential election of the US (Thomas

Jefferson and Aaron Burr) presented its first challenge to the electoral system

• Both candidates were from the Democratic-Republican Party

• Prior to the 12th Amendment, the Constitution read that each elector must cast two votes; however, their votes could not be earmarked separately for president and vice president


Ties in the Electoral College

• The first tie in the Electoral College was between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr

• Currently to settle a tie in the Electoral College, the US Constitution states that the House of Representatives would decide the president and the Senate would elect the vice president

• For the House of Representatives, each state would have one vote, for a total of 50 votes

• Each Senate member would also get one vote, for a total of 50 votes• This has happened several other times throughout the electoral

process• Unfortunately, political parties have always had an influence on the

Electoral College, even in more modern times


2000 Presidential Election: George W. Bush vs. Al Gore• George W. Bush was elected President of the US even after

losing the popular vote• Before George W. Bush was declared the winner in Florida, Al

Gore was granted a re-count under Florida election law• Now that the margin was even slimmer, under Florida election

law, Al Gore was granted a “manual” re-count in the counties of his choosing

• Florida election law also stated that the Secretary of State for Florida must certify all votes seven days after the election


Al Gore Sued the Secretary of State of Florida• Although Harris could legally amend the results of the election, she

refused to hear the appeals from the three outstanding counties• The Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of Al Gore and stated that the re-

count would continue in these three counties and the votes must be counted manually because of defects with the automated voting machines

• George W. Bush appealed the Florida Supreme Court’s decisions to the US Supreme Court

• On December 12, 2000, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W. Bush and said that the re-count of Florida votes was unconstitutional

• Therefore, George W. Bush was awarded the State of Florida’s 25 electoral votes, making him the 43rd President of the US


How does the Electoral College change over time?


Changing Population in the US

• Re-drawing congressional districts• Each state is guaranteed a minimum of 3 electoral votes in the

Electoral College• The population does not affect Senate votes in the Electoral

College because, according to the US Constitution, each state is guaranteed two Senators, regardless of population (two votes)

• However, the electors from the House of Representatives are shifted every 10 years as a result of the US Census

• The number of electors in the Electoral College does not change with each Census

• The reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state is known as reapportionment


Changing Population in the US (continued)

• Texas• From 2000–2010, the State of Texas had 30 congressional

districts and two Senators, giving Texas 32 electoral votes• Texas saw a rise in population from factors such as:

Hurricane Katrina (2005), when many Louisiana residents relocated to Texas and created an increase in the minority population

• Texas was the only state to gain four electoral votes after the 2010 census, more than any other state

• Texas began redrawing the congressional districts in 2010 to accompany the four new congressional districts (electors) which were awarded after the 2010 Census


Redistricting

• Redistricting after a Census• Is the process of redrawing congressional districts to

reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state• In most states, congressional districts are drawn by state

legislatures

• Can have a great effect on the incumbent electors who hold a seat in the House of Representatives

• Can shift the composition of a district, which could affect the incumbent’s chances of winning reelection


Redistricting (continued)

• Gerrymandering • In some states, the goal of the congressional redistricting

process is to protect incumbent electors who hold seats in the House of Representatives

• The redrawing of congressional districts for the purpose of political advantage is a form of gerrymandering• Gerrymandering is defined as the drawing of legislative districts

to benefit a particular incumbent, political party, or racial group

• In 1986 the Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandering is unconstitutional only when it eliminates the minority party’s influence statewide (Harrison & Harris, 2011, p. 340)


How do citizens participate in the electoral process?


Voting Rights for Citizens

• Voting rights have been a divisive issue in the US dating back to the construction of the US Constitution

• While drafting the US Constitution, the framers feared putting voting power into the hands of the lower class

• However, the smaller states also felt that if electing the president was the responsibility of the electors it would give a clear advantage to the larger states

• The Electoral College was a compromise between the people and the Congress

• In the beginning, voting rights were only given to white males who owned property

• All citizens, regardless of age, race, color, creed, or gender can participate in the electoral process as long as they are registered with their state


Does My Vote Matter?

• Although voting is considered to be an individual freedom in our country, elections still experience a low voter turnout

• Many citizens feel that since the Electoral College elects the president and vice president, their vote does not matter in the election

• However, individual votes are still crucial to elections, both presidential and congressional

• Although the Electoral College determines the outcome of a presidential election, individual votes can still affect the outcome


The Effect On Election Results

• The House of Representatives• Every two years citizens have the opportunity to

participate in congressional elections in their states• Since 48 states are winner-take-all states, the midterm

elections can drastically affect presidential elections• Citizens directly elect their representatives who will

represent the state as an elector in the Electoral College

• Therefore, citizens do have a direct impact on the election of the President of the US


The Effect On Election Results (continued)

• The Electoral College• The makeup of the Electoral College can change as the Congressional

elections occur• As stated, 48 states are winner-take-all states, which means that all

electoral votes from those states will be pledged to one of the presidential candidates

• However, electors pledge their votes for the candidate who won their state’s popular vote

• For example, in the 2008 presidential election, in the State of Ohio, Barack Obama won the popular vote 52% to 47% against Republican John McCain

• A “battleground state” or swing state is considered to be a state in which the Democratic and Republican candidates both have a good chance of winning the electoral votes from that state


Is the Electoral College still important to the electoral process?


Reforming the Electoral College

• Proposals for reformation• Political scientists have argued that with the electoral crisis of the 2000

presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, the Electoral College must be reformed to prevent future issues

• The most simple reform would be just using the popular vote to choose the President

• The other reform would be to change from a winner-take-all system to a congressional district plan

• The congressional district plan states that each candidate would receive one electoral vote for each congressional district that he/she wins in that state

• This would be the easiest reform because it does not require a constitutional amendment; the states would just have to a pass a law to put this into effect


Progression in the Electorate

• Informed voters• The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College because

they feared that the government would be in the hands of the uninformed

• As time has progressed citizens in the US have become more educated and informed since the days of ratification

• The education of the citizens and the wealth of information available should by definition be the answer to Alexander Hamilton’s issues in Federalist 68

• By today’s standards, are voters informed to the point where they should be directly responsible for the election of the President of the US?


Resources

• Edwards, George, Martin Wattenberg, and Robert Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics and Policy. 15. New York City: Longman, 2011. Chapter 17 & 21. Print.

• Harrison, Brigid, and Jean Harris. American Democracy Now. 2. New York City: McGraw-Hill Company, 2011. Chapter 15 & 18. Print.

• O'Conner, Karen, Larry Sabato, and Alixandra Yanus. American Government: Roots and Reform. 2011. New York City: Longman, 2011. Chapter 4 & 18. Print.

• Patterson, Thomas. The American Democracy. 9th. New York City: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2009. Ch. 15 & 18. Print.

• Schmidt, Steffan, Mack Shelley, Barbara Bardes, and Lynne Ford. American Government and Politics Today. 2011-2012. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Chapter 17 &19. Print.

• www.census.gov• https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/• Conduct an Internet search for the following key words: 270 to win

http://www.census.gov/

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/

Documents

Role of the Electoral College Political Science I