Elections in America
Electoral Composition
◼
◼
American voter turnout is low
Why? Thoughts?
1. Disenfranchisement = not given the right to vote
▪ Registration: enacted between 1890-1910 during
Progressive era.
▪ Hard for certain groups to register
▪ Make voting a two step process
▪ Felons and ex-cons cannot vote
2. Weak Party Affiliation
▪ Many people are moderates (not members of either
party)
▪ People are not fired up to vote (Political apathy)
3. Election timeline
▪ Frequency of “smaller elections”
▪ On a weekday
4. Voting is not required
▪ Countries like Australia require voting
How Votes Choose a Winner
◼
Majority System
▪ type of electoral system in which to win a seat in a representative
body, a candidate must receive a majority (50 % +1) of all the votes
cast in the relevant district.
◼
Plurality System
▪ a type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who
gets the most votes in an election, but not necessarily a majority of
votes cast. (think of if there are 3 or 4 candidates)
◼
Proportional System
▪ a multiple-member district system allows each political party
representation in proportion to its percentage of the vote.
Same Election, 3 Different Results
Who’s the best president ever?
◼
◼
◼
George Washington - 40%
Abraham Lincoln - 35%
Franklin Roosevelt - 25%
◼
The winner is…
▪ Majority: Run off necessary between GW
and Abe
▪ Plurality: Washington Wins!
▪ Proportional: Each candidate is given
proportional votes to cast
The Ballot
◼
Australian Ballot
▪ an electoral format that presents
the names of all the candidates
for any given office on the same
ballot.
▪ Introduced at the end of the 18th
century, the Australian ballot
replaced the partisan ballot and
facilitated split-ticket voting
(voting for multiple parties)
▪ Caused a more diverse group of
officials
Direct Democracy in America
Direct Democracy: Citizens directly influence the government
and make decisions
◼ Referendum
◼
▪ the practice of referring a measure proposed or passed by a
legislation to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection.
▪ 24 States
◼
Initiative
▪ a process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal
on the ballot for public vote.
▪ 24 States
◼
Recall
▪ the removal of a public official by popular vote.
▪ 18 States
What’s the difference between a
Primary and a General Election?
◼
Primary Election
▪ an election within a political
party to determine a candidate
to run in a general election
What’s the difference between a
Primary and a General Election?
◼
General Election
▪ an election to determine which political party’s candidate will
win the office.
What is the difference between and
Open and Closed Primary?
◼
Open Primary
▪ All are able to participate in the
primary, not just party
members.
◼
Closed Primary
▪ Only registered members of
the political party can vote in
the primary race.
Electoral Districts
Every 10 years after the census
(when we count up all the people in
the country) House of Representative
seats are reapportioned to each state.
◼ In a plurality system, how these
district lines are drawn in each state
can go a long way in determining who
will win with a plurality of the vote
◼ Gerrymandering
◼
▪ the redrawing of district lines in such a
way as to give unfair advantage to one
political party.
Green 3
Magenta 1
Green 2
Magenta 2
Green 4
Magenta 0
Green 1
Magenta 3
The Electoral College
Where does it come from
• Article II Section II:
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.
•
Article II Section III
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two
Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with
themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the
Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes
shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be
the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors
appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have
an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
chuse [sic] by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority,
then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse
[sic] the President. But in chusing [sic] the President, the Votes shall be taken by
States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this
Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and
a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after
the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of
the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more
who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse [sic] from them by Ballot the
Vice President.
“Insulating Decision-Making
Processes”
• The Electoral College
o The presidential electors from each state who meet in their respective state
capitals after the popular election to cast ballots for the president and vice
president.
• Technically a candidate must win a “majority” in the
electoral college to be declared president.
o What happens if no candidate receives a majority?
• It is decided by the House of Reps
"the extent of the country renders it impossible
that the people can have the requisite capacity
to judge the respective contentions of the
candidates"
George Mason,
delegate from
Virginia
The original
Electoral College
Electors
each of the states would have as many
as senators and representatives in Congress, chosen
in each state
two
electors would cast
votes for President
the person with the most electoral votes would be
President (if the votes were a majority)
the person with second highest amount of votes would
be
Vice President
How did the original Electoral
College system change?
It was pretty obvious from the
earliest elections that
something was wrong
Adams - Federalist
1796
Two political parties had
developed, and a member
of one party became
President while a member
of another party became
Vice President
Jefferson – Democratic
Republican
Does that sound like a good
system?
Imagine if we had:
President Barack Obama
Vice President Mitt Romney
Results – two new elements
PARTY NOMINATIONS
for President and Vice President
PARTY ELECTORS
pledged to vote for their
party's presidential ticket
1804
The Twelfth
Amendment
made one major Constitutional
change to the Electoral
College
electors had to name their
President and Vice President
selections SEPARATELY
In each state, who will the electors
choose?
• It depends on the state.
• In 25 states and the District of
Columbia, electors must vote the way
the public voted, based on state law
or party pledges.
• Indiana’s Electors do NOT have to
vote with the popular vote.
• No Legal Requirement
Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote
for a specific candidate:
• ARIZONA - 10 Electoral Votes
ARKANSAS - 6 Electoral Votes
DELAWARE - 3 Electoral Votes
GEORGIA - 15 Electoral Votes
IDAHO - 4 Electoral Votes
ILLINOIS - 21 Electoral Votes
INDIANA - 11 Electoral Votes
IOWA - 7 Electoral Votes
KANSAS - 6 Electoral Votes
KENTUCKY - 8 Electoral Votes
LOUISIANA - 9 Electoral Votes
MINNESOTA - 10 Electoral Votes
How many electoral votes does
each state get?
# of Electoral votes =
# of Senators + # of
Representatives
How many total electoral votes
are there?
538
Why 538?
• How many Senators?
o 100
• How many Representatives?
o 435
• Where do the random 3 come
from?
o D.C.
What has to happen in order for
a person to be elected President?
• The candidate must have a
MAJORITY of the electoral votes
• A majority is (50% + 1) of the votes
• What is (50%+ 1) of 538 electoral
votes?
270
So, who would win the presidency
if …
Bush
Popular
% Electoral %
vote
Vote
6,000,000 60%
400
74%
Gore
3,500,000 35%
Nader
500,000
5%
138
26%
0
0%
So, who would win the presidency
if …
Bush
Popular
% Electoral %
vote
Vote
3,000,000 30%
130
24%
Gore
4,500,000 45%
300
56%
Nader
2,500,000 25%
108
20%
So, who would win the presidency
if …
Bush
Gore
Nader
Popular
% Electoral %
vote
Vote
5,000,000 50%
268
49%
500,000
5%
4,500,000 45%
0
0%
272
51%
So, who would win the presidency if …
Bush
Popular
% Electoral %
vote
Vote
2,500,000 25%
130
24%
Gore
2,500,000 25%
158
29%
Nader
5,000,000 50%
250
47%
NO ONE WINS!
No one has a majority of the Electoral Votes!
Bush
Popular
% Electoral %
vote
Vote
2,500,000 25%
130
24%
Gore
2,500,000 25%
158
29%
Nader
5,000,000 50%
250
47%
House of
Representatives
would decide on
the president, with
each state getting
one vote!
The Senate would
determine the Vice
President,
deciding from the
top two names and
with each state
getting one vote
So, who would win the presidency
if …
Popular vote
%
Electoral %
Vote
48%
271
51%
Bush
50,456,062
Gore
50,996,582 48%
Nader
2,858,843
4%
266
49%
0
0%
Wait. Back to Electors for a
sec…
• Hold On.
• Does that mean that someone could
become president without getting the
popular vote?
• The short answer:
• YES
Not Mr. Popular,
But Mr. President
lost by 44,804 votes
to Andrew Jackson
in 1824
(Decided By HoR)
lost by 264,292
votes to Samuel
J. Tilden in 1876
lost by 95,713
votes to Grover
Cleveland in
1888
lost by
543,816 votes
to Al Gore in
the 2000
election
2000 Election
The 2000 Election
GORE
BUSH
THIS IS THE
55
89
120
147
168
189
209
226
241
256
271
The Electoral College is
lousy because …
• It’s possible to elect a President
without a majority of the popular
vote
• “faithless” Electors could vote for
anyone
• It depresses voter turnout
• It fails to accurately reflect the
popular will of the nation
The Electoral College is
because
GREAT
• It has worked for over 200 years
• It requires a distribution of popular
support, making the nation unified
• It enhances the status of minority
groups
• Contributes to political stability by
supporting the two party system
• Maintains Federalism
WHAT DO