Election Day is when Americans everywhere get to cast their vote for the next President of the United States. However, Americans don 't directly vote for President. So, what 's happening on Election Day then? It is a bit complicated due to a system involving something called the Electoral College.
The Electoral College is the collection of 538 votes that determine who will be the next President of the United States of America. The number 538 comes from the number of Representatives, 438, plus the number Senators, 100, all of which make up Congress. These votes, however, are not given directly to the citizens; they are divvied up amongst the states. Every state, no matter how populous, receives a minimum of three votes in the Electoral College. The remaining votes are then given out in proportion to the states ' population (Walenta, 2010).
On Election Day, when citizens go to vote, they are not actually voting for who they want to be the next President. They are actually only deciding who the electors will be and telling them how they want them to vote ("Electoralvote.com" ). If a candidate wins the majority of the votes in a state, no matter how minor, he will obtain all of that state’s votes. For example, Florida has 29 votes in the Electoral College, if one candidate were to receive just 51% of Florida’s vote, he would receive all of the 29 votes, even when 49% of the state did not vote for him.
There are many controversial topics regards the Electoral College and how it
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.”
The Electoral College has been instituted since 1787 and is a group of people that elect the United State President and Vice President. The United States citizens do not directly vote for the president, but their vote is considered by electors that have pledged to vote for the winning candidate. There are 538 electors which corresponds with the 100 senators and the 435 representatives plus 3 electors for the District of Columbia. An elector is nominated or appointed by their state’s party and are usually well connected. Congressmen and high ranking U.S. officials are prohibited from being electors. In most states they follow a “Winner takes all” format, where the elector votes for the candidate who wins the popular vote. The Electoral College systems is outdated and illogical for the present and should be abolished.
Electing government officials is a major part of being an American. The citizens of the United States have the privilege of voting for their officials , representing America’s democracy. Although a big misconception on this is that the people actually do not vote directly for who becomes elected president but rather who gets to elect the next president. The Electoral College has been in place since 1804 and continues to be the system the United States uses to elect the president. The Electoral College is filled with history, a lengthy process , and questionable arguments on its validity.
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 a constitutional system written in 1787, in this system “each state selects as many electors as it has representatives in Congress”, members of the college casts ballots for individuals, the individual with the most electoral votes becomes the President of the United States (Shelley 80). It is
In 2000 George W. Bush was elected as the 43rd president of the United States. This was despite the fact he lost the popular vote. This was made possible by the Electoral College, the system the United States uses to elect the president (and vice president). Elector are the people appointed to vote for the president in the Electoral College system. These electors are appointed to the states based on the number of people in Congress (and 3 electors are given to the District of Columbia). In most states, electors pledged their votes based on their state’s popular vote. The candidate who receives an absolute majority of the electoral votes, wins the presidency. 1 For example, If a president won the popular vote in Minnesota,
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
Electoral College is a block, or weighed, voting system that is designed to give more power to the states with more votes, but allows for small states to swing an election, as happened in 1876. Under this system, each state is assigned a specific number of votes that is proportional to its population, so that each state's power is representative of its population. So, while winning the popular vote may not ensure a candidate's victory, a candidate must gain popular support of a particular state to win the votes in that state. The goal of any candidate is to put together the right combination of states that will give him or her 270 electoral votes.
The Electoral College consists of elected representatives (electors) that vote for the president and vice president of the United States. Every state has a number of presidential electors that meet in their respective state capitals in December following popular presidential election. The number of presidential electors each state gets depends on the state’s population. The number of electors is exactly the same as the total number of the state’s senators, which is based on population, plus the number of its representatives in congress (Bromwich, 2016). California has the most electoral votes (55) and nine states have the minimum of three votes (Distribution, 2016).
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.
Who is really voting? The system of the Electoral College has been around for over two centuries. This system provides a means for the president and vice presidential elections by way of state electors. According to the United States Constitution Article II Section One , “Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of Electors , equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.” Candidates campaign amongst the various states to gain the popular votes of those states. If the candidate in fact does win the state by majority vote of the citizens, the state’s electoral representatives cast their votes towards that candidate. The abolition of the Electoral College and adaptation of direct election would give people direct votes, make all states important and help end controversy over direct vote and electoral vote.
Here’s how the Electoral College works. Each state is assigned a number of electoral votes, based on the size of its population. The 538 electoral votes are chosen by the political parties in each state. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to become President.