Americans Versus the Electoral College

In 18th-century America, when there were no formal political party structures and only a few million settlers, the Founding Fathers created a method to elect a THE PEOPLE v. THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE president that made the most sense at the time: an indirect decision by the Electoral College, comprising of the most informed individuals from each state. How Do Americans Feel About the Curremt Presidential Election Method? Today, that method itself remains mostly the same, but the nation has changed dramatically- enough to question the way its leaders are selected. The primary fear among the system's critics is the possibility of electing a president who was not directly chosen by the majority of people. BACK TO THE BASICS: HOW DOES THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE WORK? 1) U.S. citizens vote for a candidate. This is the popular vote. 2) The popular vote indirectly chooses electors in each state who are "pledged" to vote for that candidate. 3) The number of state electors is the total of each state's two senators plus the number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives. Each state's electors meet in 4) A candidate must have at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes* to win the entire election. their respective state capitals on November 6 to officially vote for president and vice president. 270: 538 : *In special cases where no candidate wins the Electoral College majority, the House of Representatives decides by a majority vote. MOST FAVOR THE POPULAR VOTE SYSTEM AND REPUBLICANS ARE ON BOARD, TO0 Following the results of the 2000 election, in which Al Gore lost the bid for president by a mere 5 electoral votes despite winning the popular vote, Gallup gauged American opinion on the election system and found that the majority would support an amendment to the constitution to replace the Electoral College with a popular vote system. For the first time since 2001, the majority of Republicans now favor replacing the Electoral College system with a popular vote system as an election method. Percent who prefer using the popular vote as a basis for electing U.S. presidents Would you prefer to amend the constitution so the candidate who receives the most total votes nationwide wins the election (popular vote)? Or would you like to keep the current system, in which the candidate who wins the most votes in the Electoral College wins the election? 100 Percent of respondents 100 75% 73% 71% 66% 57% 53% 50 61%.. 59% 62% 61% 41% 41% 46% 50 DEMOCRATS 35%**... 37% 35% POPULAR VOTE 35% INDEPENDENTS ELECTORAL COLLEGE REPUBLICANS NOV. DEC. ОСт. OC. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 WHEN POPULAR CANDIDATES LOSE Over the course of American history, four presidential candidates who won the majority of popular votes still lost the election by losing the Electoral College. 1821 1876 1888 2000 > RUNNER-P ZPopular Votes 99 Electoral Votes WINNER Popular Votes Electoral Votes RINNER-UP Popular Votes 4,300,590 RUNNER-UP Popular Votes: Electoral Votes 5,540,309 Electoral Votes Z WINNER Popular Votes 84 WINNER Popular Votes 5,439,853 WINNER Popular Votes 50,456,002 Z RI NNER-P Popular Votes 50,999,897 Electoral Votes Electoral Votes Electoral Votes Electoral Votes 108,740 153,544 185 4,036,298 184 233 168 271 266 JOHN Q. ADAMS (Democratic-Republican) RUTHERFORD B. HAYES (Republican) ANDREW JACKSON SAMUEL J. TILDEN BENJAMIN HARRISON GROVER CLEVELAND GEORGE W. BUSH AL GORE (Democratic-Republican) (Democrat) (Republican) (Democrat) (Republican) (Democrat) Although Andrew Jackson technically won the popular vote and gained the largest number of electoral votes in the 1824 election, it was not an absolute majority-more than half the votes-so the decision was left up to the House of Representatives, which ultimately chose John Quincy Adams. New York governor Samuel Tilden won the popular vote by more than 250,000 votes, but because the Electoral College votes in four states were disputed, the decision went Harrison by a total of 65 electoral votes. In the end, Cleveland couldn't regain to the House of Representatives, which declared Rutherford B. Hayes president. Incumbent Grover Cleveland lost to Republican presidential candidate Benjamin victories in Indiana and his home state of New York, two swing states he successfully triumphed in previously. But in 1893, he returned to office and became the only president to carry two non-consecutive presidential terms. The 2000 election, between Republican governor George W. Bush and Democratic Vice President Al Gore, became known as one of the closest and most controversial presidential races in history. Not only did the candidate who received the majority of the popular votes end up losing, but the outcome hinged on Florida, which had to recount its votes due to questionable balloting methods and voter error. SOURCE: GALLUP / FEC.GOV / ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA A COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOOD AND COLUMN FIVE