The Electoral College
SummaryThe Electoral college is the system by which the president and vice president of the United States are chosen. It is a process not a place. It was devised by the framers of the United States Constitution to provide a method of election that was feasible, desirable, and consistent with a republican form of government.The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
Historians have suggested a variety of reasons for the adoption of the electoral college, including:
- concerns about the separation of powers
- the relationship between the executive and legislative branches
- the balance between small and large states
- slavery
- the perceived dangers of direct democracy.
One supporter of the electoral college, Alexander Hamilton, argued that while it might not be perfect, it was “at least excellent." Originally electors met and voted for 2 people.
History
The processes of the Electoral College have been subject to a number of modifications over the years. In the C18 informal caucuses began to develop along party lines and this lead to the Twelfth Amendment in 1804 which specified separate ballots for president and vice president and reduced the number of candidates from which the House could choose from five to three. This development of political parties coincided with the expansion of popular choice. By 1836 all states selected their electors by direct popular vote except South Carolina, which did so only after the Civil War.
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The Electoral College process consists of the the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.
Each state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for their Senators.
Each candidate running for President in each state has his or her own group of electors.
The Electoral College process consists of the the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.
Each state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for their Senators.
Each candidate running for President in each state has his or her own group of electors.
The electors are generally chosen by the candidate’s political party, but state laws vary on how the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are.
The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Voters help choose their state’s electors when they vote for President because when they vote for their candidate they are actually voting for their candidate’s electors.
Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate.
The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Voters help choose their state’s electors when they vote for President because when they vote for their candidate they are actually voting for their candidate’s electors.
Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate.
Sources:
https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html
Electoral college 2016. Britannica Academic. Retrieved 28 October 2016, from http://academic.eb.com.winchester.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/32264
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