ELECTORAL COLLEGE - CHOOSING ELECTORS
The number of Electors from each state equals the number of Members of Congress
Each political party nominates Electors who pledge to vote for the party’s candidate
Electors may not be Members of Congress or employees of the federal government
ELECTORAL COLLEGE - HOW IT WORKS
Parties nominate their Electors
Popular vote decides which nominees become Electors
Electors meet in State capitals to vote for the candidate they pledged
Joint session of Congress counts & confirms votes
If no candidate gets 270 votes, House of Representatives chooses - Adams (1824)
ELECTORAL COLLEGE - ELECTORS PER STATE
The number of electors is proportional to the state’s population
Census every 10 years determines number of congressional representatives and electors
48 States are winner-take all, Maine and Nebraska can split their electoral votes: 2 to state winner, remainder to district winners.
PA has 20 now (equal to 18 Reps plus 2 Senators), likely to lose one after next census
ELECTORAL COLLEGE - ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES - VI, VII, & VIII
Protects small & remote states
Equalizes importance of low & high population centers
Campaigns address more regions to get a majority of votes
Addresses broader base of Americans
Reduces potential for corruption - 51 separate elections, not just one
Recounts are easier in close elections
Can give individual votes unequal weight
CA population - 39M, 55 electors - 709 thousand votes per elector
RI population - 1M, 4 electors - 250 thousand votes per elector
To achieve equally weighted individual vote, CA would need 156 electors
PA would need 51 electors to have the same individual clout as RI
Works poorly when there is a very small margin of victory within individual state
Tends to favor a two-party system
Candidates who receive more popular votes can lose the election
The Electoral College has chosen differently than the populace four times:
1876 - Hayes 1888 - Harrison 2000 - G W Bush 2016 - Trump
To alter the Electoral College requires a Constitutional Amendment.