The Electoral CollegeAn Outdated System or A Perfect Fit for The Presidential Election

The Beginnings of the Electoral College

• The founder’s original intent for the selection of the president.– Populist representation or Federalist

representation– The uneducated and uninformed masses– Alexander Hamilton and Federalist 68

Constitutional Framework

• Article II, against Popular Sovereignty– Electoral College independent of any majority

• Article IV Section 4– Guarantees a “Republican Form of

Government”

Selection of the Electors

• Electors were to be selected by state legislatures

• States were given authority on selection method– Appointment by people– Appointment by legislature – Or a combination of both

Key Decisions

• Supreme Court decisions affecting the Electoral College– McPherson v. Blacker (1892) challenged

method of selection for electors.• Ruled that states still had authority over selection

method

– Ray v. Blair• Also dealt with appointment methods

Close Early Elections

• 1800- Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr– Had to be referred to the House– House was deadlocked – Led to 12th Amendment

• 1824- Multiple Legit Candidates– Deadlocked electoral college– No one candidate gained a majority– Showed bias within electoral college

Other Key Elections

• 1876- Hayes vs. Tilden– 1st time the validity of votes had to be

determined– Led to Electoral Count Act of 1887

• Elections of 1948, 1988, 1992– Showed the role of legit third party candidates

• Showed that third party candidates had power to change electoral outcomes

The Election of 2000

• Bush vs. Gore– Most recent election in which electoral votes

didn’t follow popular vote– Controversy over ballots in Florida prolonged

the election– Butterfly Ballots, Supreme Court rulings– Bush won electoral vote 271-267– Gore won popular vote by 540,000

Bias from the Electoral College

• Bias against competition– “Battle Ground” states– Bias against small or non-competitive states

• “Vote Power” – Larger in states with larger representation

• Over-representation for smaller states– Guaranteed three electoral votes

More Bias with the Electoral College

• Bias against small party candidates– Third parties have little to no chance

• Little funding to go national with campaign and win electoral votes

• Bias against ethnic and racial groups– African-Americans– Hispanics and other minorities

Direct Election vs. The Electoral College

• The Electoral College– Relatively effective– System has already been “fine-tuned”

• Direct Election– Goes against intent of founders– Could be costly to implement– Difficulty creating national system of popular

election

Conclusion

• Is the Electoral College right for today?– Typically represents the popular vote– Few examples of shortcomings

• “Wrong Winner” situations• Under or over representation

– Relatively Effective– Keeps with the founder’s original intentions of

government by representation