Simone Lawson
The Electoral College is a process, not a place, that was established by the Founding Fathers in the original U.S. 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, with each state electing a number of representatives equal to its number of Senators (two from each state) plus its number of delegates in the House of Representatives. The process has been criticised as archaic and ambiguous, with over 700 proposals introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate it over the past 200 years.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To elect the President of the United States |
| Established by | The Founding Fathers |
| Part of the original Constitution | Yes |
| Number of Electors | 538 |
| Electors chosen by | The people's electors |
| Votes needed to win the presidential election | 270 |
| Voting process | Electors vote for President and Vice President |
| Voting date | December |
| Inauguration date | January |
| Reform proposals | More than 700 proposals introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College |
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What You'll Learn
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It consists of 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. Each state elects a number of representatives to the Electoral College that is equal to its number of Senators (two from each state) plus its number of delegates in the House of Representatives. The District of Columbia, which has no voting representation in Congress, has three Electoral College votes. There are currently 538 electors in the Electoral College, and a majority of 270 electoral votes are required to elect the President.
The Founding Fathers had to compromise when it came to devising a system to elect the President. The result was the controversial "three-fifths compromise," in which three-fifths of the enslaved Black population would be counted toward allocating representatives and electors and calculating federal taxes. This compromise ensured that Southern states would ratify the Constitution and gave Virginia, home to more than 200,000 slaves, a quarter (12) of the total electoral votes required to win the presidency (46). For 32 of the United States' first 36 years, a slave-holding Virginian occupied the White House.
The drafters of the Constitution assumed that electors would vote according to their individual discretion, not the dictates of a state or national party. Today, most electors are bound to vote for their party's candidate. The Constitution also does not specify how the states should allot their electoral votes, and it was assumed that each elector's vote would be counted. However, over time, all but two states (Maine and Nebraska) passed laws to give all of their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the state's popular vote count.
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The Electoral College is a process, not a place
The Electoral College is a process that was established by the Founding Fathers in the US Constitution. It is not a place. The process involves the selection of electors, who then meet and vote for the President and Vice President of the United States. The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College 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 Electoral College was created as an alternative to electing the President by popular vote or by Congress. Each state elects a number of representatives to the Electoral College equal to the number of its Senators (two from each state) plus its delegates in the House of Representatives. The District of Columbia, which does not have voting representation in Congress, has three Electoral College votes. There are currently 538 electors in the Electoral College, and a majority of 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidential election.
The voters in each state choose electors to serve in the Electoral College on Election Day, which takes place on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The State Executive of each state then appoints the electors chosen in the general election. The electors in each state meet and vote for the President and Vice President, and Congress counts the electoral votes in a joint session. The President-Elect is then sworn in as President.
The Electoral College process has been a subject of debate and controversy since its inception. There have been numerous proposals to reform or eliminate it, and it has been criticised as "archaic" and "ambiguous". However, the Electoral College remains in place as it would require a Constitutional amendment to change the system.
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The role of electors
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The Founding Fathers established it 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 Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors."
Each candidate running for President in a state has their own group of electors, known as a slate. These electors are generally chosen by the candidate's political party in that state, but state laws vary on how the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are. Most states have a "winner-take-all" system, awarding all electors to the Presidential candidate who wins the state's popular vote. However, Maine and Nebraska have a variation of "proportional representation," choosing one elector per congressional district and two electors for the ticket with the highest statewide vote.
The electors meet and vote in December, after the general election, and the inaugurations of the President and Vice President take place in January. The electors' votes are then counted by Congress in a joint session, and the President-Elect is sworn in as President of the United States.
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The three-fifths compromise
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution, in part, 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. Instead, Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors."
The compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives, effectively giving the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states. It also gave slaveholders similarly enlarged powers in Southern legislatures. This compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution.
The three-fifths ratio was proposed by James Madison and seconded by Charles Pinckney. It originated with an amendment proposed to the Articles of Confederation on April 18, 1783, which sought to change the basis for determining the wealth of each state, and hence its tax obligations, from real estate to population as a measure of ability to produce wealth. This amendment ultimately failed, falling two states short of the unanimous approval required to amend the Articles of Confederation.
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Changing the Electoral College
The Electoral College 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 term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution, but Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors".
Since the Electoral College is part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution, a Constitutional amendment would be required to change this system. The ratification of the 12th Amendment, the expansion of voting rights, and the States' use of the popular vote to determine who will be appointed as electors have each substantially changed the process.
Over the past 200 years, more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject. The American Bar Association has criticized the Electoral College as “archaic” and “ambiguous”, and its polling showed 69% of lawyers favored abolishing it in 1987. Surveys of political scientists have supported the continuation of the Electoral College. Public opinion polls have shown Americans favored abolishing it by majorities of 58% in 1967, 81% in 1968, and 75% in 1981.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, and a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Each state elects a number of representatives to the Electoral College that is equal to its number of Senators (two from each state), plus its number of delegates in the House of Representatives. The District of Columbia, which has no voting representation in Congress, has three Electoral College votes. The voters in each State choose electors to serve in the Electoral College, and the State Executive of each State signs the Certificate of Ascertainment to appoint the electors chosen in the general election. The electors in each State then meet to select the President and Vice President of the United States.
The Founding Fathers of the Constitution did not anticipate the existence of political parties. They assumed that electors would vote according to their individual discretion, not the dictates of a state or national party. Today, most electors are bound to vote for their party’s candidate. The Constitution also does not specify how the states should allot their electoral votes. It was assumed that each elector’s vote would be counted, but over time, all but two states (Maine and Nebraska) passed laws to give all of their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the state’s popular vote count.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution. The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It was established 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 Electoral College consists of 538 electors. Each state elects a number of representatives to the Electoral College that is equal to its number of Senators (two from each state) plus its number of delegates in the House of Representatives. A majority of 270 votes are required to elect the President. The electors meet and vote in December, and the inauguration of the President and Vice President takes place in January.
Yes, over the past 200 years, more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject.
