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Publications, the electoral college: questions & answers.
Understanding the Electoral College as the 2020 Presidential Election approaches
What was the original purpose of the electoral college.
According to Joe Gardner , associate professor of political science at Gonzaga, the Electoral College was a political compromise between the Founders. They hoped this system would allow for “better” presidents by giving “more virtuous” men controlling authority in choosing a president. Ultimately, it was a result of lack of trust in the people. The College also intended to give greater independence to the executive branch. In slave states, this system was supported because it gave them an advantage in selecting presidents due to the 3/5 ths compromise. Otherwise, a large portion of their population wouldn’t be accounted for in a popular vote election.
How is the Electoral College designed to work?
Each state has as many “electors” in the Electoral College as it has representatives and senators in the U.S. Congress. When citizens vote for the presidential election, they are telling their states’ electors how to cast their ballots. After the popular vote of each state is certified, the winning slate of electors, chosen by each state’s political parties, meet to cast two ballots – one for vice president and one for president.
Why is there so much confusion around it?
People are confused about it, because, “It is confusing,” said Gardner.
He admits that even political scientists have trouble explaining it. The College never operated as an independent body, as the Founders intended, and was quickly encompassed by the states’ political party that passed legislation giving each states’ dominant party greater control over the selection of electors.
“There is a disconnect between how it might work on paper (in the Constitution) and how it operates in practice,” said Gardner.
The U.S. Constitution doesn’t require state electors to vote in accordance with the popular vote. “Faithless electors” are those who vow to cast their initial ballot one way, but then end up voting another way despite the results of the popular vote. As troublesome as this may seem, this aspect has not caused problems with the Electoral College.
Undoubtedly, much modern confusion of the Electoral College relates to the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections in which a candidate won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote.
Gardner states this has nothing to do with faithless electors but instead results from “accounting errors” at the state level when converting popular votes into Electoral College votes.
Almost all states rely on a “winner takes all” system in which every party in each state creates a slate of electors equal to the number of Electoral College votes the state has. The political party who’s slate gets the most votes then controls all of the state’s Electoral College votes. Meanwhile, the losing candidate in each state gets zero Electoral College votes even if they have almost as many votes as the winner.
The “winner takes all” system, said Gardner, “produces results where a candidate can win some states by very large margins, lose other states by very narrow margins, and end up both winning the popular vote and losing the electoral college vote.”
A map provided by USA.gov, reflecting each state's number of electoral votes
So … does my vote matter?
If you’re worried about the Electoral College electors violating the popular vote, don’t be. They’ve never exercised independent judgment so voters shouldn’t be concerned about that according to Gardner.
The best way to make sure your vote matters is to vote! Not only is it a civic duty but our democratic system only functions if we all fulfill that duty.
“The more people vote, the more confident we can be that the results reflect the will of the people,” said Stacy Taninchev , professor and chair of Political Science department at Gonzaga.
While nobody’s singular vote makes all the difference on its own, if everyone decided not to vote, there would be no election and no democracy.
What is the most important factor in the 2020 election?
Taninchev believes that preserving democracy is a fundamental issue to be aware of during the upcoming election.
“W hile there are many important issues at stake and candidates on both sides take different positions on those issues, the result and aftermath of this election could be more important than past elections in either preserving or further eroding our democracy,” said Taninchev.
After all democracy is the core of the country and without it, the nation is likely to see increased violations of citizens’ rights as policy is made in the interest of a small group of people with power.
By participating in our democracy and casting ballots, citizens demand that elected leaders uphold democratic processes and protect human rights.
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Constitution Mini Q: Doc D and Electoral...
Constitution Mini Q: Doc D and Electoral College
11 questions
Introducing new Paper mode
No student devices needed. Know more
How is the number of representatives determined for each state?
The area of each state.
The wealth of each state
The population of each state.
The power of each state.
According to the Video, "Electoral College Explained," which state has the most representatives?
Rhode Island
Which states would be happier about the fact that representation is equal in the Senate?
Small States
Large States
Which states would be happier about their representation in the House of Representatives?
Smaller States
Larger States
How do they determine how much senators represent each state?
It depends on the Population of each state
The state with the greatest area gets the most representatives in the senate.
Each state gets two senators regardless of their size
Each state gets two House of Representatives regardless of their size
What is known as the Great Compromise?
The agreement to have a Senate and a House of Representatives in Congress
The agreement to make a have a president and executive branch..
The agreement to make 3 branches.
The agreement to make the Bill of Rights
In general, what is a compromise?
An agreement where both sides work out a plan.
A great set of rules to govern people
The type of government present in the United States
The idea that both sides get what they want in a deal
(Doc D) How did having the Great compromise guard against tyranny?
This way smaller states could not dominate large states.
This way the Large states could not overpower smaller states
This stopped any idea of a king that ruled.
This way the power is divided between the three branches.
How many electoral college votes do presidential candidates need to win?
According to Document D how many representatives does the State of Rhode island?
According to Document D, how many representatives did virginia receive?
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View Mini Q Electoral College.docx from PS 001 at College of the Desert. Background Essay Questions 1. Because they remembered how Britain abused its power. 2. The electors could change their votes. ... Please refer to the attachment to answer this question. This question was created from EC 135 Fall 2021 Problem Set #3.doc.
Created Date: 12/19/2017 3:39:41 PM
538. when voting for president, this is. who are actually being chosen (indirect method of electing the pres. & v.p.) an election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins. more than half. 🐐. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like direct popular vote, Electoral College, Number of Electoral College Votes ...
A Mini Document Based Question (Mini-Q) @2012 The DBQ Project 437 This page may be reproduced for classroom use. Background Essay Electoral College Mini-Q. Should the Electoral College Be Abolished? Several years after the United States was founded, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself.
Terms in this set (13) What political principle does George Edwards say the Electoral College violate and how does it do this? Political equality, because it favors some citizens and states. How does Illinois having half as many votes as 12 states and D.C. prove Edwards's opinion? Illinois has more population but half as many votes.
The Electoral College is also called the Electoral College. The presidential Electoral College system is unique to the United States. When voting on election day, you must choose among presidential candidates and elect to represent 50 states.
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that the Electoral College is a A: system of electing members of Congress B: compromise between delegates and representatives C: method for determining the popular vote D: system of electing the president E: way to avoid a winner-take-all system, The author's tone can best ...
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According to Joe Gardner, associate professor of political science at Gonzaga, the Electoral College was a political compromise between the Founders. They hoped this system would allow for "better" presidents by giving "more virtuous" men controlling authority in choosing a president. Ultimately, it was a result of lack of trust in the ...
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1 pt. How is the number of representatives determined for each state? The area of each state. The wealth of each state. The population of each state. The power of each state. 2. Multiple Choice. 3 minutes.
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the vote cast in the electoral college of the U.S. by the representatives of each state in a presidential election. a preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal, especially presidential, election. make a serious or urgent request, typically to the public.
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How does the electoral college give a theoretical advantage to smaller states? Because of the differing number Of members in the house, based on the population of the state. This gives smaller states more of a voice in the election because theoretically, if a candidate wins all forty smaller states then they will have won the majority.
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