Malcolm Rivera
The Electoral College is a process established by the Founding Fathers in the US Constitution to elect the President. It was designed as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election 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 College consists of 538 electors, and a majority of 270 electoral votes are required to elect the President. The process has faced criticism and proposals for reform, with over 700 proposals introduced in Congress over 200 years.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Established by | Founding Fathers |
| Purpose | 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 | One for each Member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators |
| Electors in District of Columbia | 3 |
| Majority required to elect the President | 270 Electoral Votes |
| Amendment to change the Electoral College system | Requires a Constitutional amendment |
| Number of proposals to reform or eliminate the Electoral College | Over 700 |
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What You'll Learn
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College
The process 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. The number of electors is equal to the number of Members in each State's Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives, plus two Senators. The District of Columbia is allocated three electors and is treated like a State for Electoral College purposes under the 23rd Amendment.
The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution, but Article II and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors". The Electoral College process outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, for choosing the President had some unanticipated problems. For example, in the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, tied with 73 votes each. This constitutional glitch threw the process into the House of Representatives, which took six days and 36 ballots to resolve.
The Founding Fathers' intention was to filter public opinion through a "deliberative" intermediate institution. However, the Electoral College has been criticised as "archaic" and "ambiguous", and there have been many proposals to reform or eliminate it. Constitutional scholars have noted that most democratic nations elect their presidents by direct popular vote, but that was never the American system.
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The Electoral College is a process, not a place
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors from the states and the District of Columbia. The number of electors from each state is equal to the number of Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives, plus two Senators. The District of Columbia is allocated three electors and is treated like a state for Electoral College purposes under the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution.
The Electoral College process can be broken down into three steps. First, electors are selected. In most states, this is done through a "winner-take-all" system, where all electors are awarded to the presidential candidate who wins the state's popular vote. Maine and Nebraska, however, use a variation of "proportional representation". After the general election, the State Executive of each state signs a Certificate of Ascertainment, listing the names of the individuals on the slates for each candidate, the number of votes each received, and the appointed electors for the state.
The second step of the Electoral College process is the meeting of the electors, where they vote for President and Vice President. This takes place on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December following the general election. The electors meet in their respective states and vote for two people, one of whom must not be an inhabitant of the same state as themselves. They then create a list of the people voted for and the number of votes each person received. This list is signed, certified, and sent to the President of the Senate, who opens the certificates and counts the votes in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The third step is the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. While the process for selecting the President is outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, the procedure for electing the Vice President is outlined in the 12th Amendment, which superseded Article II.
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. Over the years, there have been numerous proposals to reform or eliminate the Electoral College, with more proposals for changing this system than any other subject. However, none have been passed by Congress.
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Electors are chosen by voters in each state
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College 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 Electoral College is a process, not a place, and consists of 538 electors.
Each state is assigned a certain number of "votes", with the bigger the state's population, the more "votes" it gets. The formula for determining the number of votes for each state is as follows: each state gets two votes for its two US Senators, and then one additional vote for each member it has in the House of Representatives. For example, California has 54 votes, while Colorado has 10.
Most states have a "winner-take-all" system, where all electors are awarded to the presidential candidate who wins the state's popular vote. However, Maine and Nebraska have a variation of "proportional representation". In some states, electors are nominated at their state convention, and the state chair certifies their names and residence addresses to the Secretary of State. In other states, each congressional nominee and each US Senate nominee designates one elector.
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Electors meet to select the President and Vice President
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College 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 Electoral College is a process that 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 electors of each state meet in their respective state capitals to cast their votes. The meeting is opened by the election certification official, who reads the certificate of ascertainment, which sets forth who was chosen to cast the electoral votes. The attendance of the electors is then taken, and any vacancies are noted in writing. The electors then select a president or chairman of the meeting, sometimes also with a vice chairman. The electors cast their votes on separate ballots for President and Vice President.
The results are sent to and counted by Congress, where they are tabulated in the first week of January before a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, presided over by the current Vice President, acting as President of the Senate. If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the vote goes to the House of Representatives. The elected President and Vice President are inaugurated on January 20.
The process of using electors comes from the Constitution, and each state gets as many electors as it has members of Congress. The electors meet and vote in December, with the exact date set by Congress as the Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December.
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Congress counts the votes
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College 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 Electoral College is a process that 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 and the District of Columbia produce two documents to be forwarded to Congress: a certificate of ascertainment and a certificate of vote. The certificate of ascertainment identifies the state's appointed College electors and the tally of the final popular vote count for each candidate in that state. The certificate of vote is signed and recorded by each state's appointed electors when they meet to vote, and it is sent along with the certificate of ascertainment to be opened and counted by Congress.
The tellers, two from the Senate and two from the House, make a list of the votes as they appear from the certificates. The votes are then counted, and the results are delivered to the President of the Senate, who announces the winner of the election.
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Frequently asked questions
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution.
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It is a process that takes place to elect the President of the United States.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. The electors meet in their respective states and vote for two people, one of whom cannot be from the same state as themselves. The person with the highest number of votes becomes the President, and the runner-up becomes the Vice President.
Yes, there have been over 700 proposals introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. However, none have been passed by Congress.
