The Electoral College
101
By Carolyn McLarty, DVM
Republican National Committeewoman for
Oklahoma
What is the Electoral
College?
 It is NOT a place!
 It is a group of people who are elected to officially
vote for a Presidential and Vice Presidential
Candidate.
https://www.skidmore.edu/vote/
College
 1. an educational institution or establishment.
 2. an organized group of professional people with
particular aims, duties, and privileges. Ex: "the electoral
college”
Latin: col- ‘together with’ + legare- ‘act as deputy’
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=college+definition&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8http://regents.okstate.edu/sites /default/files /homepageslides/OSU.jpg, https://atholreccentre.com/2014 /06 /23 /reminder-athol-recreation-committee-meeting-tonight-starts-at-7pm/
The American People do not vote directly
for a Presidential or
Vice Presidential Candidate!
ELECTORS FOR
PRESIDENT
AND VICE PRESIDENT
(Vote for One)
FOR PRESIDENT AND
VICE PRESIDENT
DONALD J. TRUMP
MICHAEL R. PENCE
REPUBLICAN
FOR ELECTORS
[DAVID OLDHAM
[TERESA LYN TURNER
[MARK THOMAS
[BOBBY CLEVELAND
[LAUREE ELIZABETH
MARSHALL
[CHARLES W POTTS
[GEORGE W. WILAND, JR.
Who are these Electors?
 Each state legislature designates how the Electors are
chosen in their state.
 Oklahoma Political Parties elect Electors at their
District Conventions and at the State Convention.
 Usually, well-known Party activists are elected as
Electors. The Party trusts them to vote correctly.
 An Oklahoma Elector who fails to vote correctly
(“faithless Elector”) is immediately replaced.
 In Oklahoma there is a $1,000 fine for not
voting properly.
Oklahoma has 7 Electors total, since we have 5
members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 2
U.S. Senators.

https://www.washingtonp ost.com/graphics /politics /2016-election/how-the-electoral-college-works/
How many total Electors?
 100 for 100 U.S. Senators
 435 for 435 U.S. House Representatives
 + 3 District of Columbia Electors (XXIII Amendment)
 = 538 total
 50% of 538 = 269
 269 (50%) + 1 = 270 = Majority
 Candidates must have a Majority to win the Presidency!
file:///Users/User/Desktop /Election% 20Map.webarc hive
By what authority do Electors vote?
The U.S. Constitution:
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 2
https://apgovernmentchs .wikispaces.com/Important+Clauses+of+the+Constitution
U.S. Constitution
 Article II (Article 2 – The Executive Branch)
 Section 1
 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President,
chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
 2: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole
Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State
may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or
Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit
under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
What do Electors do?
 Electors act according to detailed instructions in
Article II, as amended in Amendment XII, of the
U.S. Constitution on the Election of President and
Vice President.
 The Electors of the Political Party of the Candidate
that wins Oklahoma’s popular vote meet in the
State Capitol.
 Electors cast their Electoral Votes for the State.
When?
 The Electors meet in December 41 days after the
November election and cast their official vote for the
Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates.
 They meet the Monday after the second Wednesday in
December. This year it is Monday, December 19, 2016.

http://freehdcalendars2016.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Calendar-December-2016-Png.jpg
2008 Oklahoma ElectorsRepublicans
Electors meet in the Blue Room at the Oklahoma State Capitol
Signing documents
December 15, 2008
Official Republican observer- Carolyn McLarty and Governor Brad Henry
2012
The Electors record their votes on
six “Certificates of Vote,” which are paired with
six “Certificates of Ascertainment.”
2012 Electoral College
December 16, 2012
The Electors sign, seal, and certify the packages of electoral votes,
and immediately send them to the Federal and State officials. The
Secretary of State is responsible for the delivery of the packets.
December 28, 2016 is the Deadline for Receipt of Electoral Votes this year.
2012 Elector Lynn Windel, Governor Mary Fallin, Observer- Carolyn McLarty
How are the Electors’ votes
counted?
 Winner-take-all in 48 of 50 states. The winner of the
popular vote in the state wins the Electoral Votes of that
state.
 A winner-take-all system is not federally mandated.
 Maine and Nebraska divide votes by Congressional
District.
 If no Candidate receives a majority of Electoral Votes
(270+) then the U.S. House of Representatives elects
the President and Vice President.
The Congress meets in joint session for a final
count of the total Electoral Votes on
January 6, 2017

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/roles.html
Why use the Electoral
College?
 The founding fathers were inspired to protect smaller states and rural
states from larger and urban state dominance.
 State’s rights and state sovereignty were and are at stake.
 For government to function, coalitions of political views must be formed.
 They studied history and knew that pure Democracy was dangerous, so
they applied a layer of protection in the election of our nation’s leaders.
 James Madison worried about what he called “factions.” He feared
groups of citizens who have a common interest would either violate the
rights of other citizens or would harm the nation as a whole.
 Historian Alexis de Tocqueville dubbed Madison’s fear as:
“the tyranny of the majority.”

http://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/th e-reason-for-the-electoral-college/
The founding fathers knew best!
Remember, democracy never
lasts long. It soon wastes,
exhausts, and
murders itself.
There never was
a democracy yet
that did not
commit suicide.
– John Adams
https://whatyouthoughtiwentaway .wordp ress.com/
tag/two-wolves-and-a-lamb-deciding-whats-fordinner/
http://www.history.com/topics /uspresidents/john-adams
Pure Democracy is deadly!
https://whatyouthoughtiwentaway .wordp ress.com/tag/two-wolves-and-a-lamb-deciding-whats-for-dinner/
Our Government is a
Constitutional Republic!
 A Constitutional Republic has a Constitution that
limits the powers of the government.
 The government is structured, creating checks on
its power and balancing power between the
different branches.
 The goal of a Constitutional Republic was to avoid
the dangerous extremes of either tyranny or
mobocracy…

http://www.stopthenorthamericanunion.com/NotDemocracy.html
I Pledge Allegiance
to the Flag of the
United States of
America, and to the
REPUBLIC
https://ventrellaquest.com/2014/05 /13 /we-will-force-you-to-salute-the-flag-for-freedom/
for which it stands,
one Nation under
God, indivisible with
liberty and justice
for all.
The Electoral College History
 The Electoral College has worked in 58 Presidential
elections from 1788 through 2016.
 In only one case has a candidate that received a clear
majority of the popular vote lost in the Electoral College,
and that was in 1876 when Rutherford B. Hayes
defeated Samuel Tilden.
 In four cases a Candidate that received the most
popular votes, but less than a majority, lost in the
Electoral College;
1824 Andrew Jackson had more popular votes of four
Candidates, the House of Representatives elected John
Q. Adams;
1888 Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover Cleveland,
2000 George W. Bush defeated Al Gore, and
2016 with Donald J. Trump defeating Hillary Clinton!

http://www.theindependent.com/opinion/another_opinion/electoral-college-successfuluniquely-american/article_b9ac80d2-31e5-11e2-acf5-0019bb2963f4.html
The Electoral College works
 The Electoral College has produced clear winners over 90% of
the time.
 The Electoral College favors broad, national coalitions over
intense regional popularity.
 The Electoral College rewards greater geographic diversity.
 The Electoral College makes Presidential Elections uniquely
hard to manipulate.
 Each state runs its own election.
 The states elect the President and Vice President.
http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5526628?access=2a5874d80ab20840492c7fb6ec3b2194
The Electoral College works
 It is much easier to garner a majority of Electoral Votes
by state than a majority of the national popular vote!
 Recounts are easier statewide than nationwide.
 The system is decentralized. Each state is autonomous.
The states elect the President and Vice President!
 Densely populated urban areas don’t totally dominate
the generally more conservative rural vote.
 The Electoral College discourages voter fraud and can
help make it less relevant.
 Swing states change over time so all states are
important to the Candidates.
 Alexander Hamilton wrote of the Electoral College
that if “it be not perfect, it is at least excellent.”
The New York Times (NYT.com)
Presidential Election results 2016
The New York Times (NYT.com)
Presidential Election results 2016
The New York Times (NYT.com)
Presidential Election results 2016
What about the National
Popular Vote?
 The National Popular Vote is the grand total of all
the ballots cast across the country.
 According to the AP's tally, as of November 29,
2016, Clinton got 64,817,808 votes (48.0%),
Trump, 62,510,659 votes (46.3%)(Source nyt.com)
(2,307,249 difference)
 This is the second time in the past five Presidential
Elections that the national popular vote victor didn't
win in the Electoral College.
National Popular Vote
Interstate Compact
 The National Popular Vote Compact (NPV) is a
scheme to eliminate the Electoral College. It is an
Agreement between Compact States to bind their
Electors to vote for the winner of the national
popular vote… regardless of how their state voted!
 Millions of dollars have funded the NPV Compact
effort from the Progressive Billionaire George
Soros’ family.
 Poorly educated citizens can easily fall for the
distorted “every vote equal” mantra that the NPV
Compact pushes.
Republicans favor the
Electoral College
 In August of 2011, The Republican National
Committee passed a Resolution Opposing the
National Popular Vote Compact with support from
Republican National Committee Members in all 50
States.
 Under the National Popular Vote Compact Plan,
31 states would lose power. 19 states would lose
more than 20% of their power, and 10 states would
lose more than 40% of their power.
Morton Blackwell, Leadership Institute
Republicans favor the
Electoral College
 Historically the majority of Republicans favor the
Constitutional Electoral College method of electing
a President and Vice President.
 As of 2016, the NPV Compact has been adopted by
10 states and the District of Columbia, whose 165
combined electoral votes represent 30.7% of the
total Electoral College vote, and 61.1% of the 270
votes needed for it to have legal force.
 All of the NPV Compact states so far have been
Democrat controlled states.
Democracy argument
 NPV Compact supporters say the Electoral College is
UNDEMOCRATIC!
 That argument falls flat because a republic, or even
“representative democracy”, is not a pure democracy.
(remember the wolves and the lamb!)
 Our federal government certainly is not a democracy.
In the entire Executive and Judicial Branches, only two
officials are elected—the President and Vice President!
 All the rest are appointed- and per Article III- judges are
appointed for life.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2012/11/defending_the_electoral_college.html
"Republics decline into democracies and
democracies degenerate into despotisms."
- Aristotle (384-322 BC)
States who have passed the
NVP Compact
Listed with their number of electoral votes:
District of Columbia 3,
Vermont 3,
Hawaii 4,
Rhode Island 4, Maryland 10, Massachusetts 11,
Washington 12, New Jersey 14, Illinois 20,
New York 29, California 55,
Equals 165 electoral votes.
The New York Times (NYT.com)
Presidential Election results 2016
District of
Columbia 3,
Vermont 3,
Hawaii 4,
Rhode Island 4,
Maryland 10,
Massachusetts 11,
Washington 12,
New Jersey 14,
Illinois 20,
New York 29,
California 55,
The U.S. Election without
the Electoral College
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/gNcvD2b1qL4/WDtcn78Wy gI/AAAAAAABiLs /5CAwrKS_jK4ahvBLTVl86npk61 MutrFkwCLcB/s640 /
michaelpramirez.com.jpg
BEWARE!!!
If the NPV Compact passesthe Electoral College dies.
 If states possessing 270 electoral votes pass The
National Popular Vote Compact,
 it would become the law without ever passing 2/3
of Congress and without being sent to the states
for ratification by ¾ of the states as required to
amend the U.S. Constitution in Article V of the
Constitution.
 The National Popular Vote Compact is an end run
around the Constitution.
World Series Baseball
example:
 The team that wins the World Series wins by
winning more games, not by scoring more total
runs! The Presidential Candidate that wins the
most states wins the election. The STATES elect the
President!
This year the Cubs and Indians both scored 27 runs;
but the Cubs won 4 games, the Indians 3 games.
The Chicago Cubs clearly won the 2016 World Series!
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/207995060 /cubs-win-world-series-after-108-years-waiting/?game_pk=487637
BEWARE!!!
If the NPV Compact passesthe Electoral College dies.
 The National Popular Vote Compact passed the
Oklahoma State Senate in February 2014!
 It was introduced into the Oklahoma House in
February of 2015.
 It was referred to and died in the House Rules
Committee.
 IT MUST NOT BE RESURRECTED!!!
May the Electoral College
live
http://jesus.blogs.naplesnews.com/2016 /02 /28 /happily-ever-after-dave-gipson/
The End