The Electoral CollegeIs your Vote worth Anything?

UEQ and LEQ

•UEQ: IS the United States a true democracy?

•LEQ: Why was the Electoral College created and is it necessary in our country today?

Vocabulary

•Winner-Take-All•Elector•Electoral College

Warm Up•Electoral College Reading: Answer

Questions▫What are most Americans not aware of?▫Who do voters actually vote for?▫How are the number of electors in each state

picked?▫When does the new president actually get

elected by the electors?▫What happens if an election is close?▫Based on what you read, does your vote

count?

On Election Day

•Election day for both general and primary elections is the first Tuesday, after the first Monday of November.▫Usually around November 3

•Popular Vote▫The votes of citizens, go toward picking

electoral college.•Electoral Vote

▫Votes of electors that vote for the candidate

The Electoral College•Citizens do not vote for the President.•Citizens vote for electors- people who vote

for the candidate citizens voted for.•Described by the Constitution, the electors’

votes in the end pick the President.•The Election Process: Explained through Pa

per

4 Steps of the Electoral CollegeStep 1: The States•The number of representatives and senators

in each state determine elector numbers.▫Total elector number = 538

•Ex. Iowa has 5 representatives and 2 senators▫Number of electors = 7

•States with large populations have more electors.

•So candidates only really need to win large states.

The States

Step 2: Elector Lists

•Before each presidential election, both parties make a list of electors that will vote in each state.

•Each election the list of electors is different.▫Electors are higher members of society,

doctors, lawyers, teachers, mayors, judges•Electors promise to vote for the parties

candidate.

•So on election day you vote for a candidate’s team of electors.

Step 3: Election Day•Election day citizens vote, election night

everyone sees who won each state.•“Winning” a state means a candidates

electors won.•The winning electors can then cast their

votes.•270 to Win

▫When a candidate gets 270 electoral votes, he or she wins the election, even if it is not over.

Step 4: Weeks After Election

•The candidate that wins is not President the day after the election.

•Electoral College voting takes place weeks later.

•By law an elector of a winning candidate can vote for the other candidate.

•Congress counts elector votes, out of 538 votes, 270 electoral votes are needed to win the Presidency.

Major Problem•Winner-Take-All

▫Citizens votes (popular votes) don’t count in an election.

▫A candidate that has more popular votes will not necessarily win the most electoral votes.

▫By winning big electoral vote states, a candidate can easily win.

▫Ex. George Bush had 500,000 less popular votes than Al Gore but had 271 electoral votes to Gore’s 267.

Review

•In your own personal opinion, do you think that your vote counts at all today? Explain your answer.

•Read over the 2 part electoral college reading, answer the questions below to help you review what you just learned.