Census Choose The Number Of Electors Summary

First off, what is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is the process put in place by our Founding Fathers in which America votes for its President and Vice President every four years. The Electoral College was put in place to help prevent abuse of power and corruption by having a separation of government. The Electoral College is made up of representatives from each state based on how many Senate and House of Representative delegates that state has. These numbers range from 3 to 54 with the total number of electors being 538. This system has taken much scrutiny over time. According to Lenz and Holman, “The Electoral College may be the least-known and most misunderstood government institution in the American political system.”

Since the electoral vote is partially based on the state’s representatives in the House, the most populated states have more votes. This can be evidenced above with the four most populated states in the nation, California, Texas, Florida and New York, having the four highest electoral votes in the nation. The question of to whom the state’s electoral votes go to is decided by an elector. An elector is someone who decides to which candidate the state’s electoral votes goes to, electors are instructed to award the votes to whomever wins the state popular vote. However, electors can go against these instructions. Most electors pledge to keep to those instructions but sometimes an elector will cast the state’s electoral against the instructions, these electors are known as “faithless” electors. Due to “faithless” electors, nine electoral votes have been cast against instruction since 1820. Thankfully, none of these votes changed the outcome of any election.

So what is the electoral college as defined in the constitution? The electoral college is a slate of electors who will cast the real votes for the president and vice president. These electors are appointed by the state in proportional amount to the number of senators that each state are entitled by congress as well as entitled representatives.. The actions of these electors and the manner of how they will be chosen is outlined by the Constitution, “The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall

electors are chosen. All electoral votes in a state go to the candidate that gets the most votes, and

Every state has two senators and the number of representatives that is proportional to its population (Schumaker 12). Congress decides who they want to dictate how many electors each state has based it off of the state 's population (Edwards 14). The Constitution requires that winning candidate must have 270 of the Electoral College votes. For instance, during the 2004 election, Bush had collected 271 electoral votes if he had two fewer votes and Gore two more than both of the candidates would have had fifty percent of the Electoral College votes (Schumaker 12).

In presidential elections, citizens do not actually vote for the candidate of their choosing, instead citizens are voting for electors known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College chooses a President, and Vice President. The Constitution gives each state a number of electors that equals the number of House of Representatives and Senate, which totals five hundred and thirty eight and also includes three electors for the District of Columbia. Each state receives a certain number of electors based on population size. The results in a state determine which electors are chosen. All electoral votes in a state go to the candidate that gets the most votes, and after state elections appointed officials certify the popular vote of each state. Two hundred and seventy votes are needed to elect a President; the candidate with the majority of the votes becomes the president.

The Electoral College is made up of 538 Electors. This number is an addition of 435 Representatives, 100 Senators and 3 District of Columbia electors. Every four years, the election is reborn, and citizens across the nation begin voting for their desired candidate. In all but two states, Nebraska and Maine, the majority votes win that states electoral vote. As for those two states, the votes are determined by proportional representation. The top voter in those two states receives two votes for their Senators. The rest of the votes are allocated by congressional district. What does this do? This gives the candidates an opportunity to gain votes from these to states instead of the winner-take-all that happens in the other 48 states. Finally, the selection of the electoral college differs from state to state. The majority of Electors are nominated by political parties at their conventions. Other times, the Party’s central committee casts a vote. These electors are either state elected officials, party leaders, or people with a strong affiliation with presidential candidates (What Is the Electoral College? How It Works and Why It Matters,

“The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President of the United States” (What is the Electoral College, 2012). In order for a candidate to win they must get the majority of the electoral votes which is 270. How does the Electoral College work? Every four years when people go to the polls to vote for the new president and the vice president of the United States, in all but two states (Nebraska, and

Article Ⅱ, Section Ⅰ of the constitution outlines the basic ideals and workings of the electoral college. It states, “each State is allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representative

We have a system of government called a Representative Democracy - where citizens vote for a representative to pass certain laws for them or elect president. Come election time, it can easily be mistaken or unknown, that we don’t in fact directly vote for president. America is not a pure Democracy, but a Democratic Republic or Representative Democracy where electors represent each state. When Americans vote for a president, they are actually voting for presidential electors or representatives. These people pledge to vote for the candidate that gets the popular vote in their state. How this about was through the proposal, known as the Virginia Plan, which “provided for a system of representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state,” (44, American Government, Power and Purpose.) The outcome of this proposal and debate was the Great Compromise. The amount of electors each of the 50 states have coincides with how many congressional members there are in each state. Every state has two senators and a delegation in the house of representatives based on the state’s population. For instance, California is the largest state with 53 representatives and 2 senators totaling it to electors 55 electors. Whereas, Hawaii, only has 2 representatives and 2 senators giving it 4 electors in total. Stated in the book, Social Education, vol. 72, p. 304, “Each state has the same number of electors as the total combined number of its senators and representatives in Congress; the District of Columbia also has electors, whose number is the same as the number allocated to the state with the smallest population (Wyoming, which has 3). A presidential candidate needs to obtain at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes to

The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution revised by the Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804), the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July 1868), and the Twenty-Third Amendment (ratified Mar. 29, 1961) (tumblr.com). Electoral college made up of 538 electors each state is allowed one elector for each Representative and Senator (Washington DC) is allowed 3 Electors a group of electors is chosen by each political party each presidential candidate has their own unique slate of potential Electors. Political parties chose the electors for the slate these people are chosen to recognize their service and dedication to that political party. When voters cast their vote on election day they are voting to select their state’s Electors.

What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a system that our Founding Fathers established in the Constitution in which representatives from the 50 states elect the President of the United States. The system begins with the people electing representatives to represent them, and then the representatives meet so they can vote for the next President and Vice President. The votes from each representative are then counted by Congress and are able to elect the candidate that has the most votes. According to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (2013), “The Electoral College consists of 538 electors…270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.” Every state has an

Write an essay that explains how the Electoral College works. How does the Electoral College shape the strategy of candidates? Why is it harder to win presidential elections post 1968?

Under the current system there are five hundred and thirty eight electors. Each state gets one elector, each representative, and a senator. A presidential candidate needs two hundred and seventy votes to win the election. The electors meet after the November popular election to cast their votes and officially elect the president. Electors may vote for whomever they wish. Each state's electoral votes are awarded on a winner take all bases.

Each state appoints a number of electors that equals the number of senators and representatives of their state. The popular vote determines how the electoral college of each state will vote. The candidate with highest amount of votes from the electoral colleges wins the election. This process of electing a president based on the majority of electoral votes began when the Constitution was written in 1776. Our forefathers designed this system because they felt it was the fairest way to govern.