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Frequently Asked
Questions about the Electoral College
Why does the Electoral College give
states disproportionate voting power?
What if there is no majority
winner within the Electoral College?
Is an Elector required to
vote for their designated party?
Has an Elector ever
voted against their designated party?
How many
times has the popular vote winner differed from the winner chosed by
the Electoral College?
What are
the most common concerns with the Electoral
College?
What options
for reforming the Electoral College have been
introduced?
Where can
I find out more about the Electoral College?
Why does the Electoral
College give states disproportionate voting power?
When the Electoral College was established, there were
only 13 states and they varied greatly in size.
There was no national media or transit system and the
idea of a nationwide campaign was not likely.
The country
was suspicious of a national government and small states feared that a direct
election would result with one of the larger states, such as
New York, electing one of its "favorite sons" based solely on
homestate appeal.
The Electoral College was among a
series of compromises which gave additional power to members of the smaller states. These
compromises were necessary for everyone to feel comfortable joining the
Union.
This disproportionate voting power is still present
today. Smaller states like Wyoming, Alaska, and South Dakota receive
more Electoral votes per person than larger states like Texas and
California.
When comparing the representation of Wyoming's
population in the Electoral College to that of California's
population, the ratio is nearly 4:1.
Advocates of the Electoral College claim that giving small states more power
encourages politicians to campaign in all states, including the small
ones that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Despite these claims, politicians
still do not campaign in every state. Rather than choosing the
states they campaign in by size, they choose these states by competitiveness.
Since the Electoral College has a
winner-take-all system for nearly every state, candidates have no
reason to campaign in states that favor their
competition. See Steve Hill's new book,Fixing
Elections , for more
information on this predicament.
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What happens if there is
no majority winner within the Electoral College?
A majority is
not guaranteed within the Electoral College. An election with no
majority winner could occur in two ways; if two candidates tie with
269 votes each or if three or more candidates receive Electoral
votes.
The Constitution states that if no Presidential
candidate obtains a majority of the Electoral votes, the decision is
deferred to the U.S. House of
Representatives. The House then elects the President, choosing between
the top three candidates.
Each
state receives only one vote and an absolute majority of the states (26)
is required to elect the President. In this situation, Washington,
DC would lose the voting power given to it by the 23rd Amendment (since it does not have the
Congressional representation given to the states).
A majority winner is
not guaranteed in the House. The states could split their votes
equally between 2 candidates (25 state votes each) or the votes
could be split between three candidates in such a way that no
candidate receives a majority.
Also, since every
state only gets one vote, the Representatives from each state must
come to a majority decision on which candidate to support. A state
with an equal number of Representatives supporting the competing
parties would not be able to cast its vote unless one Representative
agreed to vote for the opposing side.
If a majority is not
reached within the House by January 20 (the day the President and
Vice President are sworn in), the Vice President serves as President
until the House is able to make a decision.
If the Vice President
has not been elected either, the Speaker of the House serves as
acting President until the House is able to make a decision.
If no Vice Presidential candidate obtains a majority of Electoral votes,
the decision is deferred to the U.S. Senate.
The Senate would then
elect the Vice President, choosing between the two candidates
receiving the highest number of Electoral votes for that office.
Every U.S. Senator
is allotted one vote and an absolute majority of the votes (51) is
required to elect the Vice President.
Again, the Senate
could be split evenly between the top two candidates, giving each
candidate 50 votes.
If no Vice Presidential candidate receives 51
Senatorial votes by January 20, the President appoints the Vice
President, pending approval by Congress.
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Is an
Elector required to vote for their designated
party?
The answer to this question varies considerably
by state. As of 2002, only 26 states require their Electors to vote
for their party's designated candidates.
These 26 states deal with "faithless Electors" in
varying ways. Some states will issue a fine up to $1000; some cancel
the Elector's vote and find a replacement; some press criminal
charges against the "faithless Elector." These criminal charges can
vary from a misdemeanor to a 4th degree felony.
The other 24 states carry no official punishment or
requirements for their Electors.
A total of 156 Electors have not
cast a vote for the candidate their party ran on the ballot. Check
our section on "Faithless
Electors" for more
details on these votes.
For a complete, state-by-state list of requirements for
members of the Electoral College, follow this link:
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/laws_2000.html
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Has an Elector ever voted against their
designated party?
Yes. Since the founding of the Electoral College, 156
members of the Electoral
College have not cast their votes for their party's designated
candidates.
71 of these votes
were changed because the original candidate died before the day on
which the Electoral College cast their votes.
Three of
the votes were not cast at all. These three Electors chose to
abstain from voting for any candidate.
The other 82
Electoral votes were changed on the personal initiative of the
Elector. Sometimes Electors changed their votes in large groups,
such as 23 Virginia Electors acting together in 1836. Many times,
these Electors stood alone in their decision.
Reasons have varied for voting against their party�s designated
candidates. Some have voted differently because of personal or
political reasons, others just to make a statement to the
country.
As of the 2000 election, no Elector has
changed the outcome of an election by voting against their party�s
designated candidate.
To see the names, dates, and stories of
these 156 votes, visit our page on the "Faithless
Electors."
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How many times has the popular vote
winner differed from the winner chosed by the Electoral
College?
This has happened four times since
the Electoral College was founded. The most recent of these was the
2000 Presidential election.
To read about these elections, and
other complications which have occured within the Electoral College,
see our section on Controversial
Elections.
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What are the most common
concerns with the Electoral College?
There are many problems which have occured
and can occur within the current system of the Electoral College.
Please view our page on Concerns With the Electoral
College for more information.
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What options for reforming the
Electoral College have been introduced?
There have been many different
alternative systems proposed to replace the Electoral College.
See our page on Reform
Options for the Electoral College for a list of the
most common reform options that have been introduced.
Where can I find out more about the Electoral
College?
Visit our page of Links
related to the Electoral College
for more information.
The list includes official government
and informational sites as well as several independent organizations
who either support the Electoral College or support the reform of
the Electoral College. |
