Jonah Patel
The Electoral College is a process for electing the President of the United States of America. It was established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The College consists of 538 electors, who meet in their respective states and vote for two persons, one of whom cannot be an inhabitant of the same state. The person with the greatest number of votes is elected President, while the runner-up becomes Vice President. The Electoral College has been criticised for not being representative of the popular will of the nation, and over 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate it.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Founding Fathers' intention | To compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens |
| Number of electors | 538 |
| Electors per state | Equal to the number of members of the House of Representatives plus two senators; a minimum of three electors per state |
| Majority required | 270 electoral votes |
| District of Columbia | Allocated 3 electors |
| Electors' voting | Electors vote for two persons, one of whom must not be an inhabitant of the same state as themselves |
| Certificates | The State Executive of each state signs the Certificate of Ascertainment to appoint the electors chosen in the general election |
| Counting of votes | Congress meets in a joint session to count the electoral votes |
| Inauguration Day | The President-Elect is sworn in as President of the United States |
| Amendment proposals | Over 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College |
| Public opinion | Public opinion polls have shown majorities of Americans favored abolishing the Electoral College in 1967 (58%), 1968 (81%), and 1981 (75%) |
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What You'll Learn
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College
The number of electors each state appoints is equal to the size of its congressional delegation, so each state is entitled to at least three electors, regardless of its population. The apportionment of the remaining electors is roughly proportional. This allocation has contributed to the runner-up of the nationwide popular vote being elected president in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.
The Electoral College was officially selected as the means of electing the President towards the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, due to pressure from slave states wanting to increase their voting power. The slave states could count slaves as three-fifths of a person when allocating electors, and small states increased their power given the minimum of three electors per state. The Electoral College was adopted by default, as all other alternatives had been rejected.
The Founding Fathers did not use the term "electoral college" in the Constitution, but Article II and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors". Over the past 200 years, more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College.
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The Electoral College is a process, not a place
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, with each state appointing a number of electors equal to its Congressional delegation. The District of Columbia is allocated 3 electors and is treated like a state for Electoral College purposes under the 23rd Amendment. The process involves the selection of electors, who then meet to vote for President and Vice President, and finally, the counting of electoral votes by Congress. A majority of 270 electoral votes are needed to elect the President.
Most states have a "winner-take-all" system where all electors are awarded to the candidate who wins the state's popular vote. However, Maine and Nebraska have a variation of "proportional representation". The selection of electors is a topic that has been debated since the Electoral College's inception, with supporters arguing it ensures presidential candidates have broad appeal, while critics argue it is not representative of the nation's popular will.
The procedure for electing the President and Vice President has evolved over time. The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, replaced the original procedure where each Electoral College member cast two electoral votes without distinguishing between votes for President and Vice President. The amendment requires each member to cast one vote for President and one for Vice President, addressing the issue of multiple candidates tying in electoral votes.
The Electoral College has been a subject of ongoing debate, with more proposals to amend or eliminate it than any other part of the Constitution. While some critics call for its abolition, others defend its role in the U.S. electoral process.
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The selection of electors
The Electoral College is a process established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and the election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution, but the process is part of its original design.
The U.S. Constitution contains very few provisions relating to the qualifications of electors. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 provides that no Senator, Representative, or person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States shall be appointed an elector. Additionally, the 14th Amendment disqualifies state officials who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies from serving as electors.
The process of selecting electors varies from state to state, and while the Constitution does not require electors to vote for the candidate chosen by their state's popular vote, some states do. Electors who vote against their state's popular vote may be fined, disqualified, replaced, or prosecuted by their state.
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The meeting of the electors
The Electoral College is a process that was established by the Founding Fathers in the US Constitution. The process involves the selection of electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution, but the term "electors" is mentioned in Article II and the 12th Amendment.
The voters in each state choose electors to serve in the Electoral College on Election Day, which is the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. The State Executive of each state then signs a Certificate of Ascertainment to appoint the electors chosen in the general election. The electors meet and vote in their respective states on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December after the general election. The electors cast their ballots for President and Vice President, and the results are sent to the National Archivist in Washington.
Following the meeting of the electors, Congress meets in a joint session on January 6 of the following year to count the electoral votes and declare the winners of the election. The Vice President of the United States, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results. The President-elect is then sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, in the year following the general election.
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Counting electoral votes
The Electoral College is a process established by the Founding Fathers in the US Constitution. It involves the selection of electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. The process is a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, requires electors to "make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate". The Amendment also specifies that "the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted." The Amendment was proposed to prevent a tie between candidates for President and Vice President, as had happened in 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
The Electoral Count Act of 1887 is a federal law that added to the procedures set out in the Constitution for the counting of electoral votes following a presidential election. The Act has been amended several times, most recently in 2022. The Act was enacted due to concerns that without a formal procedure for counting electoral votes, partisans in Congress might use the counting process to force a desired result. Under the Act, Congress can reject votes for specific defects, such as if a state submits multiple sets of electoral votes or if electors were constitutionally ineligible to hold office.
The counting of electoral votes typically takes place in a joint session of Congress, presided over by the current Vice President, in the first week of January. The electors of each state meet in their respective state capitals on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday of December to cast their votes, which are then sent to Congress to be counted. The results are tabulated in a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, a contingent election takes place, with the House holding a presidential election session and the Senate electing the Vice President. The elected President and Vice President are inaugurated on January 20.
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Frequently asked questions
The Electoral College is a process, not a place, established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. It involves the selection of electors, who then meet to vote for the President and Vice President.
There are 538 electors in the Electoral College. Each state appoints electors equal to the number of its Congressional delegation (its members in the House of Representatives plus two Senators).
The Electors meet in their respective states and vote for two people, one of whom must not be an inhabitant of the same state. They create a list of the people voted for and the number of votes each person received, which is sent to the President of the Senate. The person with the greatest number of votes becomes President, and the person with the second-highest number of votes becomes Vice President.
While the term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution, the process is part of its original design. Article II and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors", and the process is outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3.
Yes, there have been numerous proposals to reform or abolish the Electoral College. Over 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress, and an amendment to abolish the system was approved by the House in 1969 but did not pass the Senate. Public opinion polls have shown varying levels of support for abolishing the Electoral College over the years, with 69% of lawyers favoring abolition in 1987 and majorities of Americans supporting it in 1967 (58%), 1968 (81%), and 1981 (75%).
