The Presidential Selection Process?
A two-stage process
• Nomination
• General Election
General Election Rules
• FECA
Federal Election Campaign Act
• General election: Public financing for presidential
campaigns (with limits on campaign spending)
General Election Rules
• FECA
• The Electoral College
The Electoral College
• 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
Electoral College
• Each state gets number of electors equal to Reps +
Senators
• Electors are NOT Reps or Senators themselves
• Electors chosen by the parties + campaigns
• Electors meet in own states
• Cast two votes, one for president, one for vice president
• Person with majority of electoral votes becomes president
• If no majority, House of Representatives (one vote per
state delegation) selects president from among top three
Electoral College vote-getters
Some problems with the
Electoral College?
• Faithless Electors?
• A small/big state advantage?
• The winner of the popular vote doesn’t
always become president
• Not transparent
• All votes not weighted equally
Alternatives to the Electoral
College?
Pros and Cons?
Strategic Consequences of the
Electoral College?
Strategic consequences of the
Electoral College
• Candidates focus on big states with lots of
Electoral Votes
• Candidates focus on swing states, where
money and face time might make a
difference
Sure things
• REPUBLICAN • DEMOCRATIC
STATES: STATES
– AL: 9, AR: 3, AK: 6, – CA: 55, CT: 7, DE: 3,
GA: 15, ID: 4, KS: 6, DC: 3, HI: 4, IL: 21,
KY: 8, LA: 9, MS: 6, ME: 4, MD: 10, MA:
MT: 3, NE: 5, ND: 3, 12, NJ: 15, NY: 31, RI:
OK: 7, SC: 8, SD: 3, 4, VT: 3
TX: 34, UT: 5, WY: 3.
– Total: 147
– Total: 169
The purple states
• The West:
– Arizona: 10 EV, Colorado: 9 EV, Nevada: 5 EV,
– New Mexico: 5 EV, Oregon: 7 EV, Washington: 11 EV
• The Midwest:
– Minnesota: 10 EV, Iowa: 7 EV, Missouri: 11 EV,
Ohio: 20 EV, Pennsylvania: 21 EV, Michigan 17 EV,
Indiana 11
– Wisconsin: 10 EV,
• Border states:
– Tennessee: 11 EV, West Virginia: 5 EV, Virginia 13
• The South: Florida: 27 EV, North Carolina, 15
• The North: New Hampshire: 4 EV
Targeted States, 2004
State Visits Ads? Electoral Difference in two-party
Votes percent of vote
OH 45 X 20 2.1%
IA 31 X 7 0.67%
PA 30 X 21 2.5%
WI 28 X 10 0.38%
FL 23 X 27 5.0%
MN 19 X 10 3.5%
MI 17 X 17 3.5%
NM 12 X 5 0.8%
WV 11 X 5 12.9%
CO 10 X 9 4.8%
NH 10 X 4 1.3%
MO 7 11 7.2%
NV 7 X 5 2.4%
NC 5 15 12.4%
The Electoral Calendar
• ELECTION DAY
– By late evening, one candidate leads in the exit polls in
enough states to win 270 Electoral Votes, and the
Media declares a winner.
– One candidate concedes the election, the other
proclaims victory (usually)
The Electoral Calendar
• First Monday following First Wednesday in
December: Electors meet in their state
capitols and cast their formal votes for
president
• January 6, 2009: The President of the
Senate opens and counts the votes
• January 20, 2009: The newly elected (or re-
elected) president is inaugurated
What kinds of presidential
candidates are favored in this
system?
Are they the kind we want?
To whom are they accountable?