ELECTORAL COLLEGE
The 4 Steps for Presidential Selection
(as outlined in Article I, Amendment 12, andAmendment 23 of the U.S. Constitution)
In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton wrote: "A small number of persons, selected by their fellow citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations."
STEP 1: The Selection of the Electors
Each State is allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives (which may change each decade according to the size of each State's population as determined in the Census). The political parties (or independent/third party candidates) in each State (after their state summer conventions) submit to the State's chief election official a list of individuals pledged to their candidate for president and equal in number to the State's electoral vote.
Who Are the Electors?
Common, die-hard, long-term, party loyalist and supporters. Members of Congress and employees of the federal government are prohibited from serving as an Elector in order to maintain the balance between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. "Faithless Electors" are members of the Electoral College who, for whatever reason, do not vote for their party's designated candidate. Since the founding of the Electoral College, there have been 156 faithless Electors. As of the 2004 election, no Elector has changed the outcome of an election by voting against their party’s designated candidate. Despite these 156 faithless votes, and a Supreme Court ruling allowing states to empower political parties to require formal pledges from Presidential Electors (Ray v Blair, 343 US 214), 21 states still do not require their members of the Electoral College to vote for their party's designated candidate. The 24 states that do have requirements issue a small variety of rarely enforced punishments for faithless Electors, including fines and misdemeanors.
Example: In 2000 - Barbara Lett-Simmons (Democrat, District of Columbia), a Democratic Elector from the District of Columbia, did not cast her vote for Al Gore as expected. Her abstention was meant to protest the lack of Congressional representation for Washington, DC. Lett-Simmons was the first Elector to abstain from voting since 1832. Her abstention did not affect the outcome of the election.
STEP TWO: The Presidential Election
On the Tuesday following the first Monday of November in years divisible by four, the people in each State cast their ballots for the party slate of Electors representing their choice for president and vice president (although as a matter of practice, general election ballots normally say "Electors for" each set of candidates rather than list the individual Electors on each slate). This year (2004) it was Tuesday, November 2nd.
Whichever party slate wins the most popular votes in the State becomes that State's Electors-so that, in effect, whichever presidential ticket gets the most popular votes in a State wins all the Electors of that State. [The two exceptions to this are Maine and Nebraska where two Electors are chosen by statewide popular vote and the remainder by the popular vote within each Congressional district].
Let’s look at the final 2004 results (Ohio?)
2004 Presidential Election
President of the United States
Incumbent* declared winner
Candidates George W. Bush * (R) John F. Kerry (D) Ralph Nader (I) Michael Badnarik (Lib.) Michael A. Peroutka (CST) David Cobb (Green) Leonard Peltier (PFP) Walter F. Brown (I) James Harris (SWP) Roger Calero (SWP) None of These Candidates (Una.) Thomas J. Harens (OTH) Bill Van Auken (I) Gene Amondson (Lib.) John Parker (LU) Charles Jay (PCH) Stanford "Andy" E. Andress (Una.) Earl F. Dodge (Phb.)
Votes 59,841,499 56,382,976 406,880 384,257 132,067 107,409 21,616 10,283 6,962 4,437 3,646 2,388 2,208 1,928 1,541 880 763 137
% 51% 48% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Step 3: The Electors Get to Work
On the Monday following the second Wednesday of December (as established in federal law) each State's Electors meet in their respective State capitals and cast their electoral votes-one for president and one for vice president. In 2004, December 13th.
The electoral votes are then sealed and transmitted from each State to the President of the Senate who, on the following January 6, opens and reads them before both houses of the Congress. The candidate for president with the most electoral votes (270), provided that it is an absolute majority (one over half of the total), is declared president. Similarly, the vice presidential candidate with the absolute majority of electoral votes is declared vice president. BUT, Electoral Vote TRUMPS Popular Vote:
Presidents who lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College vote
In 1876 there were a total of 369 electoral votes available with 185 needed to win. Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, with 4,036,298 popular votes won 185 electoral votes. His main opponent, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, won the popular vote with 4,300,590 votes, but won only 184 electoral votes. Hayes was elected president. In 1888 there were a total of 401 electoral votes available with 201 needed to win. Republican Benjamin Harrison, with 5,439,853 popular votes won 233 electoral votes. His main opponent, Democrat Grover Cleveland, won the popular vote with 5,540,309 votes, but won only 168 electoral votes. Harrison was elected president. In 2000 there were a total of 538 electoral votes available with 270 needed to win. Republican George W. Bush, with 50,456,002 popular votes won 271 electoral votes. His Democratic opponent, Al Gore, won the popular vote with 50,999,897 votes, but won only 266 electoral votes. Bush was elected president
STEP 4: The Last Step- What If?? In the event no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral votes for president, the POPULAR vote comes back into play – see, your vote does count!! Has It Ever Happened? Yes. Twice.
1800, Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr 1824, John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson
The U.S. House of Representatives (as the chamber closest to the people) selects the president from among the top three contenders with each State casting only one vote and an absolute majority of the States being required to elect. Similarly, if no one obtains an absolute majority for vice president, then the U.S. Senate makes the selection from among the top two contenders for that office. Finally, at noon on January 20, the duly elected president and vice president are sworn into office.
2004 Electoral College Map
2004 Final Count Electoral Votes Popular Votes % Popular Votes
Bush (R)
286
59,841,499
51
Kerry (D)
252
56,382,976
48
IDEAS TO PONDER? Is Reform Needed? - Keep the System the Way It Is - Let the Popular Vote Prevail - Proportional Electoral Vote
(The Lodge-Gosset Amendment: Maine, Nebraska, Colorado 2004, #36 -failed)