Road to the White House

How we elect our President

Stephanow, 2006

Road to the White HouseGENERAL ELECTION

• First Tuesday, after the first Monday in November.

FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,

IT’S NOT OVER…

IT’S ONLY JUST BEGUN!!!

Road to the White House

• December– Monday following the second

Wednesday.

– Electors that won, meet in their state capitol to cast their votes.• One for Pres.• One for VP.

– Ballot sealed and sent to D.C.

Road to the White House

• January 6th

– Formal presidential election

– Pres. of Senate opens and counts electoral ballots before a joint session of Cg.

– Announces winner.

• January 20th

– New term of Pres. Begins at Noon.

– Inauguration Day• Pres. and VP take

oaths of office.

So how does this Electoral College thing work?

Terms to know…

• PLURALITY: the most votes wins. Only have to have a plurality to win a state.

• POPULAR VOTE: when people vote in November general election.

• MAJORITY: 50.1% or more. Must win majority in E.C. (270)

• ELECTORAL VOTE: when the electors vote in December at state capitol.

How do you know how many electoral votes each state gets?

• TX= 32 Reps. OK= 5 Reps. + 2 Sens. + 2 Sens. 34 electors 7 electors

• MT= 1 Rep. (D.C. gets the min.

+2 Sens. of 3.)

3 electors

Total electoral votes

• 538–100 senators

–435 representatives

–3 for D.C.

Majority needed to win the E.C.

• 270!–½ of 538 is 269.

–Add 1 to make a majority, and you get 270!

Slate of Electors

• In the 2000 election and throughout the 90’s (based on the 1990 census) TX had 32 electoral votes. Based on the 2000 census, we gained 2 Representative districts; therefore, we now have 34 for the election.

• Each party selects their own “slate of electors.”• 2004--

– 34 Republicans 34 Democrats Bush/Cheney Kerry/Edwards

– 34 LibertarianBadernik/Campagna

Winner-Take-All System

• Who won the POPULAR vote in the state? They get ALL of that state’s electoral votes.

• (The others get NONE!)– Except in Maine and Nebraska, which go by

the Congressional District Method.

2004 Texas Popular Vote

• 8,806 precincts• Candidate Party Popular Vote %

Bush Rep. 4,518,491 61.2

Kerry Dem. 2,825,723 38.3

Badarnik Lib. 38,683 .05

Who won the plurality in Texas?

Texas’ 2004 Republican Electors

These people were handpicked by their party and they got to go vote at the capitol

in December because the Republican candidate won the State of

Texas!• Marcus Anderson • Bennie Bock • Bill Borden • Larry Bowles • Sue Brannon • Charles Burchett • Marjorie Chandler • Tom Cottar • Christopher DecLuitt • Jan Galbraith • Martha Greenlaw • Barbara Grusendorf • Kathy Haigler • Royce Hayes • Kim Hesley • Kristina Kiik • Lance Lenz

• Loyce McCarter • Frank Morris • Dan Mosher • Roger O'Dell • Jay Pierce • Mike Provost • Anna Rice • Rhealyn Samuelson • Nancy Stevens • Cheryl Surber • Mike Ussery • Glenn Warren • Susan Weddington • Jim Wiggins • Morris Woods • Peter Wrench • Sid Young

AS OF 2004, No Legal Requirement. Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to

cast their vote for a specific candidate: • ARIZONA

ARKANSAS DELAWARE GEORGIA IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MINNESOTA

• MISSOURI NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEY NEW YORK NORTH DAKOTA PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH WEST VIRGINIA

Legal Requirements or Pledges. Electors in these States are bound by State Law or by

pledges to cast their vote for a specific candidate: • ALABAMA • ALASKA • CALIFORNIA • COLORADO • CONNECTICUT • DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA • FLORIDA • HAWAII • MAINE • MARYLAND • MASSACHUSETTS • MICHIGAN • MISSISSIPPI • MONTANA

• NEBRASKA • NEVADA • NEW MEXICO • NORTH CAROLINA • OHIO • OKLAHOMA • OREGON • SOUTH CAROLINA • VERMONT • VIRGINIA • WASHINGTON • WISCONSIN • WYOMING

Unfaithful Elector?• Kerry won Minnesota; however one

Elector cast a vote for Dem. Vice-President candidate John Edwards. It may have been unintentional, as this ballot also voted for John Edwards as Vice-President

2004 National Results• George W. Bush

(R)    

• Electoral 286    

• Popular 62,039,073

• John F. Kerry (D)    

• Electoral 251    

• Popular 59,027,478

Election Results by State

Election Results as a Cartogram

Electoral College Maps…by the numbers

• Past Elections– Red is Republicans; Blue is Democrats