The Electoral College

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Paradoxes of modern elections:

1. There is increased suffrage but decreased turnout;
2. There is mass selection of candidates but low policy effect'
3. There is more direct contact with candidates but more filtering mechanisms, e.g. Television.

PRO:
Logic of the Electoral College: it is an additional filtering mechanism. The House is chosen directly; the Senate is chosen by people chosen by the people; the president was chosen by people chosen by people who are chosen by the people.

Electors cast votes on the Tuesday following the second Monday at their state capitals. In January, at a joint session of Congress the President of the Senate, counts the votes and announces the results.

CON:
I.    A "wrong" choice could be made:
            A. 1948 Truman won by 2.2 million votes, but a total swing of 30,000 in California
              and Ohio would have swung the election to Dewey
      B. 1960 a 12,000 vote change in five states would have swung the election of Kennedy.
      C. 1976 5,548 (.14%) in Ohio and 3,686 (1.2%) in Hawaii and Ford would have won.
      D. Possibility of President with less than 50% of registered voters-- Lincoln, Nixon (1968),
              Clinton (1992).
II. Regional or Third party effects:

A. Act as spoilers or power brokers.

B. Bull Moose party threw election to Wilson (Condorcet Candidate).

C. If election goes to the House, Third party gets concessions not popularly deserved.

D. An additional 43,000 votes in Mississippi, New Jersey and Alaska or 55,000 in Missouri would have made George Wallace `King-maker.'

            E. Wallace, with 45 electoral votes, gave Nixon just 301, 31 above majority
                    1. Had Humphrey won 1.6% more in California the election would have gone to
                         the House.

III. Makes for an unequal distribution of power.

A. exaggerates attention in large states.

B. Any votes above a majority are wasted (Riker's "The Theory of Political Coalition

The System Actually Works

A. The mathematics:
1. The "Size" Principle: Alan Hivley, "Math Against Tyranny" Discover, Nov. 1996

B. Application of Theory
1. 1960 World Series:

Game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total Runs	Total Wins
Pittsburgh Pirates	6	3	0	3	5	0	10	27	4
New York Yankees	4	16	10	2	2	12	9	55	3

Estimated Gains Or Losses In Congressional Seats In 2002
Due To Population Shifts In The 2000 Census

Arizona +1	Mississippi -1
California +3	Nebraska -1
Colorado +1	Nevada +1
Connecticut -1	New Hampshire -1
Florida +1	New York -1
Georgia +1	Pennsylvania -1
Illinois -1	Rhode Island -1
Iowa -1	Texas +3
Massachusetts -1	Washington +1
Michigan -1	West Virginia -1

Campaigns And Elections Magazine

Electoral College Webzine

Electoral College Box Scores

Federal Election Commission

Electoral College Calculator

Who are the Electors?

Abolish the Electoral College!

Failure of the Electoral College

1997 Hearings on Electoral College

Clothing

Electoral College Dateline

Electoral College Calendar Spring of election year: Each political party chooses electors and alternates in each state according to the number of electors for that state. This is usually done at a state convention.

November (1st Tuesday after the first Monday): Popular vote in each state to determine which party's electors go to the Electoral College.

December: Electoral College meets in each State Capital and in D.C. to cast votes.

January: When Congress opens, the electoral votes are counted and the election is official if both the presidential and the vice-presidential candidate have 270 votes. If no presidential candidate gets the needed 270 votes, the election is decided in the House of Representatives with each state delegation having one vote. (26 votes to win) The Senators, voting individually, will elect the vice-president.

STATES NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE 270 ELECTORAL VOTES:

CALIFORNIA	54
NEW YORK	33
TEXAS	32
FLORIDA	25
PENNSYLVANIA	23
ILLINOIS	22
OHIO	21
MICHIGAN	18
NEW JERSEY	15
N CAROLINA	14
GEORGIA	13 *
VIRGINIA	13 *
Total	270