Choosing your
electoral college reps
By Christy
Scott
The Alpine Sun
CALIFORNIA — On Nov. 7 of this year residents in California
and across the nation will vote for various local and statewide
representatives. Those state candidates will play a huge role in
the election of the next President in 2008, thanks to the
electoral college system.
Origins of the Electoral College
Members of the Constitutional Convention explored many
possible methods of choosing a president. One suggestion was to
have the Congress choose the president. A second suggestion was to
have the State Legislatures select the president. A third
suggestion was to elect the president by a direct popular vote.
The first suggestion was voted down due to suspicion of
corruption, fears of irrevocably dividing the Congress and
concerns of upsetting the balance of power between the executive
and the legislative branches. The second idea was voted down
because the Framers felt that federal authority would be
compromised in exchange for votes. And the third idea was rejected
out of concern that the voters would only select candidates from
their state without adequate information about candidates outside
of the state.
The prevailing suggestion was to have a College of
Electors select a president through an indirect election.
The College of Electors was likened to the Centurial
Assembly of the Roman Republic where adult male citizens of Rome
were divided into groups of 100 who cast one vote in favor or
against proposals of the Roman Republic. In the Electoral College
system the states assume the role of a centurial group and the
number of votes that they are entitled to depend on the size of
the state’s Congressional delegation. Originally, the purpose of
the College of Electors was to have the most knowledgeable and
informed individuals from each state of the Union cast their votes
for the president assuming that they voted solely on the basis of
merit.
Throughout its history, the Electoral College has gone
through only two major changes. In the first design of the
Electoral College:
Each
State’s Electors numbered their two U.S. Senators plus its number
of U.S. Representatives.
The
State’s selected the manner in which their Electors were chosen,
however members of Congress and federal employees were prohibited
from serving as Electors.
Electors
were required to meet in their state.
Each
elector was required to cast two votes for the president and at
least one of those votes had to be for a candidate outside of
their state.
The
candidate with the most electoral votes became president and the
candidate who received the next greatest number of electoral votes
became vice president.
This system was meant to work in a system without
political parties and national campaigns and the introduction of
which forced a couple features of the Electoral College to change.
The second design of the Electoral College came about
in the presidential election of 1800 when the Electors of the
Democratic-Republican Party gave Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
an equal number of electoral votes. The tie breaking decision was
made in the House of Representatives resulting in the election of
Thomas Jefferson.
To prevent a tie from occurring again, the 12th
Amendment was passed requiring each elector to cast only one vote
for the office of president and another for the office of vice
president. The 12th Amendment also states that if no one receives
an absolute majority of electoral votes for president the House of
Representatives will cast the deciding vote from the top three
candidates.
Pros and Cons of the
Electoral College
In its over 200 year history, the electoral college has
received its share of criticism and praise. The following is a
list of the most frequently made comments of the Electoral
College.
Pros
Requires
a distribution of popular support to be elected president- the
winning candidate must demonstrate both a sufficient popular
support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that
support to govern
Strengthens the status of minority groups- the votes of small
minorities within a state may make the difference between winning
all of a state’s electoral votes or none of them.
Enhances
the political stability of the nation by promoting a two-party
system- protects that presidency from impassioned but transitory
third party movements and forces the major parties to absorb the
interests of minorities.
Maintains the federal system of government and representation
Cons
There is
a possibility of electing a minority president- one way for this
to happen would be if the country was so deeply divided
politically that three or more presidential candidates split the
vote and no one obtained a necessary majority
There is
a risk of having “faithless” Electors- Electors who won’t be loyal
to their party or candidate
The
Electoral College may depress voter turnout- because each state is
only entitled to so many electoral votes regardless of voter
turnout, there is no incentive for states to encourage voter
participation
Does not
accurately reflect the national popular will because it does not
elect a candidate by a direct popular vote
There are a total of 538 electoral votes divided among
the American states. California represents the largest electoral
block with 54 of those votes. Some states hold only three
electoral votes.
The Electoral College
today
Each
state is allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its
U.S. Representatives plus its two senators (in CA the total
electoral votes is 54).
The
political parties of each state submit a list of individuals
pledged to their candidates for president that is equal in number
to the number of electoral votes for the state to the State’s
chief election official (in CA it is the Secretary of State). Each
party determines its own way of choosing its electors.
Members
of the Congress or employees of the Federal government are
prohibited from serving as Electors.
After
the parties hold their caucuses and the states hold their
primaries, the major parties nominate their candidate for the
Office of President. The names are then submitted to the state’s
chief election official (in CA, the Secretary of State) as they
will appear on the general election ballot.
On the
Tuesday following the first Monday of the month of November,
registered voters in each state cast their ballots for the Office
of President and Vice President.
Whichever presidential candidate gets the most popular votes in a
State wins all of the Electors for that state except for the
states of Maine and Nebraska which award electoral votes
proportionately.
On the
Monday following the second Wednesday of December, each state’s
electors meet in their respective state and cast their electoral
votes (one for President and one for Vice President).
Each
Elector must cast at least one of their two votes (see above) for
a person outside of their state in order to prevent the election
of a president and vice president from the same state (however,
the presidential and vice presidential candidates choose each
other as running-mates and are on the same ticket in the popular
vote).
The
electoral votes are sealed and sent to the President of the U.S.
Senate and are read aloud to both Houses of Congress on January 6.
The
candidate with the most electoral votes, provided there is an
absolute majority (over one half of the total vote) is declared
president.
If no
one candidate receives an absolute majority of electoral votes the
U.S. House of Representatives selects the President from the top
three vote-getters.
On
January 20, at noon, the elected president and vice president are
sworn into office.
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