What is the US Electoral
College?
How does the Electoral College work?
Each
state has a number of electors in the Electoral College proportionate to its
population: the sum of its number of senators (always two) and representatives
in the House.
Technically,
Americans on Election Day cast votes for electors, not the candidates
themselves, although in most cases the electors' names are not on the ballot.
California,
the most populous state, has 55 electoral votes. A few small states and the
District of Columbia have only three.
Today,
the Electoral College has 538 electors, and in all but two states, Maine and
Nebraska, all of the state's electors are awarded to the winner of the popular
vote within that state.
A
candidate needs to win 270 electoral votes - half of the total plus one - to
win the White House.
Part
of a presidential candidate's grand strategy entails drawing a map of states
the candidate can and must win to gather 270 electoral votes.
Why was the system chosen?
When
the United States was founded in the late 18th Century, a national campaign was
virtually impossible given the size of the country and the difficulty of
communication.
Also,
the US at the time had little in the way of national identity, states were
jealous of their rights, political parties were suspect, and the popular vote
somewhat feared.
The
framers of the constitution in 1787 rejected both the election of the president
by Congress and election by direct popular vote, on the grounds that people
would vote for their local candidate and the big states would dominate.
The
Southern states favoured the electoral college system because while slaves had
no votes, under the constitution they were tallied as three-fifths of a person
in the census.
Contested elections
§
2000: Republican George W Bush wins the White House with
271 electoral votes, though Democrat Al Gore won 540,520 more votes
§
1888: Republican Benjamin Harrison elected president with
233 electoral votes, though Democrat Grover Cleveland won 100,456 more votes
§
1876: Republican Rutherford B Hayes wins with 185
electoral votes, even though Democrat Samuel J Tilden won 264,292 more votes
§
1824: After four candidates split the electoral college,
the House elects John Quincy Adams even though Andrew Jackson won more popular
votes and electoral votes
Isn't it unfair that the winning candidate might get fewer popular votes?
Indeed,
this is seen as a major drawback of the system.
Since
1804, four presidents have been elected who did not win the popular vote.
Most
recently, in 2000 Al Gore won 48.38% of votes nationwide compared to George
Bush's 47.87%. Yet Mr Bush won because he got 271 electoral votes compared with
266 for Mr Gore.
The
winning votes came from Florida, whose 25 votes all went to Mr Bush even though
he won only 537 more popular votes.
Another
drawback is that in many states the result is a foregone conclusion and there
is thus little incentive for the individual to vote. It is also a disincentive
for candidates to campaign there.
For
example, large states California, Illinois and New York are solidly Democratic
and Texas is solidly Republican.
So what are the advantages?
The Electoral
College system is respected for its historical roots and because it does
usually reflect the popular vote (48 out of 52 elections since 1804 produced a
popular mandate).
It
also gives greater weight to smaller states - one of the checks and balances
the US constitution values.
For
example, the largest state, California, has 12.03% of the US population but its
55 Electoral College votes represent only 10.22% of the college total.
Wyoming,
a sparsely populated state, has 0.18% of the US population but its three seats
in the Electoral College give it 0.56% of the college votes.
The
college system also means that a candidate needs to get a spread of votes from
across the country.
What happens if no candidate gets a majority of Electoral College votes?
Under
the 12th amendment to the US constitution, the House of Representatives elects
the president.
Each
state delegation, however, has only one vote, which means that the majority
party in each delegation controls the vote. An absolute majority of states is
required for election.
The
vice-president is chosen by the Senate, with senators having an individual
vote.
This
has happened only once since 1804, when the electoral college system took its
current shape with the 12th amendment.
In
1824, four candidates split the electoral vote, denying any one of them a
majority.
Democrat
Andrew Jackson had the most electoral votes and the greatest share of popular
votes and expected to be president.
But
the fourth-place finisher, House Speaker Henry Clay, thought little of Jackson
and persuaded the House to back second-place finisher John Quincy Adams. Adams
was voted in as president.
Are the electors bound to vote for their candidates?
In
some states they have a free vote but in practice they vote for the candidates
they are pledged to, while in other states they are required to do so.
Only
nine electoral votes have been cast against the state's instructions by
so-called "faithless" electors, and no result has been changed by it,
according to the Congressional Research Service. And in 2000 an elector from
the District of Columbia abstained.
If the
result is extremely close, a "faithless" elector could cause real
trouble. The issue would probably have to be decided by the courts.
The
electors are chosen by the parties before the election, often in a vote at a
convention. The electors then meet in state capitals after the election to cast
their votes. The results are formally declared to the Senate on 6 January. The
new president is inaugurated on 20 January.
Source: BBC
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