Simone Lawson
The US Constitution established the Electoral College, a process for electing the President and Vice President of the United States. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, with each state having as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators in the US Congress. The District of Columbia has three electors and is treated like a state for Electoral College purposes. The Electoral College meets every four years, and electors vote for President and Vice President at their respective state capitals. Electors are appointed based on the popular vote results in each state, and most states have a winner-take-all system where all electors are awarded to the candidate who wins the state's popular vote. The Electoral College has been a source of political controversy and has undergone significant constitutional and legislative changes, including the Twelfth Amendment, which changed the process for electing the President and Vice President.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What is the Electoral College? | A process, not a place, established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. |
| Number of Electors | 538 electors from the states and the District of Columbia. |
| Allocation of Electors | Every state is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. The District of Columbia is allocated three electors and treated like a state. |
| Voting Process | Electors are appointed after the general election, and each elector casts distinct votes for President and Vice President. |
| Majority Requirement | A majority of 270 electoral votes are required to elect the President. |
| Counting of Votes | Congress meets in a joint session every four years on January 6 to count the electoral votes. The sitting Vice President presides over the meeting and announces the name of the next President. |
| Election Frequency | The general election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. |
| State Discretion | Each state determines whether the voting is open to the public. Each state decides how to appoint its electors, but it must be done according to law before Election Day. |
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What You'll Learn
The Electoral College
The College consists of 538 electors, with each state having as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators in the US Congress. The District of Columbia is treated like a state for the purposes of the Electoral College and has three electors.
The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, changed the original process of electing the President and Vice President. Under the new rules, each elector must cast distinct votes for President and Vice President, instead of two votes for President. This amendment was proposed after the 1800 election, where Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both Anti-Federalists, tied in the Electoral College.
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Allocation of Electoral Votes
The Electoral College is a process established by the Founding Fathers in Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution. It is 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, with each state having as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators in the US Congress. The District of Columbia has three electors and is treated like a state for the purposes of the Electoral College under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution.
Electoral votes are allocated among the states based on the Census. Each state is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in its US Congressional delegation—two votes for its Senators plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts. The allocation of electoral votes is determined by Congress, which also sets the date for the electors to cast their votes.
Most states have a "winner-take-all" system, where all electoral votes go to the presidential candidate who wins the state's popular vote. However, Maine and Nebraska have a variation of "proportional representation". After the general election, the state's executive prepares a Certificate of Ascertainment listing the names of the individuals on the slates for each candidate, the number of votes each individual received, and the individuals appointed as electors.
The electors meet in their respective state capitols to cast their ballots for President and Vice President. Electors cannot vote for a Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate from their home state. The votes are then sent to Congress, which meets in a joint session to count the electoral votes. The sitting Vice President presides over the meeting and announces the name of the next President after the votes have been tallied.
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Counting Electoral Votes
The Electoral College is a process established by the Founding Fathers in the US Constitution to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. It is 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, with each state having as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators in the US Congress. The District of Columbia has three electors and is treated like a state for the purposes of the Electoral College.
Electoral votes are allocated among the states based on the Census. Each state is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in its US Congressional delegation—two votes for its Senators plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts. The allocation of electoral votes is determined by Congress, which also sets the date for the electors to meet and vote.
The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. The electors are appointed by each state after the certification of the general election results. The electors then meet in their respective state capitols and cast their votes for President and Vice President. The votes are tallied by the sitting Vice President, who opens the votes from each state in alphabetical order and passes them to four tellers—two from the House and two from the Senate—who announce the results. At the end of the count, the Vice President announces the name of the next President.
The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, changed the original process by requiring electors to cast distinct votes for President and Vice President, instead of two votes for President. This amendment was proposed to address the issue of multiple candidates tying in the Electoral College, as had happened in 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
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Electors and Eligibility
The Electoral College is a process established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, by which the President and Vice President of the United States are elected. The College consists of 538 electors, with each state having as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators in the United States Congress. The District of Columbia is treated like a state for the purposes of the Electoral College and has three electors.
The process of the Electoral College 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. Electors are appointed by each state and the District of Columbia after they certify the general election results. The selection of electors is based on the popular vote results from the November general election, with each state determining whether the voting is open to the public. Most states have a "winner-take-all" system, where the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote is awarded all of that state's electors. However, Maine and Nebraska have a variation of "proportional representation".
The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, requires each elector to cast distinct votes for President and Vice President, instead of two votes for President. This amendment was a response to the 1800 election, where Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both Anti-Federalists, tied in the Electoral College. The amendment also stipulates that no individual constitutionally ineligible to be President can serve as Vice President.
To be eligible for the Office of President, one must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least thirty-five years old, and have been a resident of the United States for fourteen years. Congress determines the time and day of the electors' voting, which is the same throughout the United States.
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Amendments and Objections
The Twelfth Amendment, proposed in 1803 and ratified in 1804, changed the original process of electing the president and vice president. Initially, each member of the Electoral College cast two electoral votes, with no distinction between votes for president and vice president. The Twelfth Amendment requires electors to cast separate votes for president and vice president. This was to prevent a tie, as happened in 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, who were both Anti-Federalists.
The Twelfth Amendment also stipulates that each elector must cast distinct votes for president and vice president, instead of two votes for president. In the case of no candidate winning a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives holds a contingent election to select the president. This amendment was rejected by Delaware and Connecticut and was criticised by some as violating the spirit of the Constitution by taking away a check on the power of the large states.
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 College has been criticised as a complex and non-uniform state-based process that has produced recurring political controversy. The pervasive state-by-state winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes has been criticised as undemocratic and not in the spirit of the Constitution.
Congress has the power to protect the right of all citizens to vote and to protect the choice of electors from fraud or corruption. Congress meets in a joint session to count the electoral votes, and the sitting Vice President presides over the meeting, opening the votes from each state in alphabetical order.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution established the Electoral College, a process for electing the President and Vice President of the United States. The College consists of 538 electors, with each state having as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators in Congress. The District of Columbia has three electors. Electoral votes are allocated among the states based on the Census.
The Electoral College process consists of the selection of electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of electoral votes by Congress. When voters go to a Presidential election, they vote for their candidate's preferred electors. Most states have a "`winner-take-all-" system, where the candidate who wins the state's popular vote receives all of that state's electors.
Since the mid-20th century, Congress has met in a joint session every four years on January 6 at 1:00 pm to count the electoral votes. The sitting Vice President presides over the meeting and passes the votes to four tellers, two from the House and two from the Senate, who announce the results.
