Vocab QuizYou have 5 minutes

to study

Honors- Editorial due todayNo extensions or exceptions

Warm-up (next left hand page) What is “Campaign

Finance Reform” and why is it needed?

• Campaign Finance Reform are laws that place limits on the amounts individuals can contribute to campaigns.

• It is needed to help with the rising costs of running a campaign

• …and make it fair for anyone to run for office not just the wealthy.

• However, interest groups and PACs have found a way around these limits by giving “Soft money”.

Discussion• Estimate-

How many times have your parents voted for president?

Daily Objectives• Explain the process of how the

Electoral College selects the president and vice president.

Primary Process

How political parties select and nominate candidates for public office

Presidential PrimariesPrimaries are like the semi- finals in a

tournament…

Democrats

Republicans

EThe Framers of the Constitution decided that electing the President would be different. They created the Electoral College.

XCEPT: Presidential ElectionsWhat is the Electoral College?

- a process to select the

president and vice president of the US

How does it work? The votes that the AmericanVoters cast in theGeneral Election are for a slate of electors. These electors cast theofficial vote for presidentand vice president.School House Rock Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyIFqf3XH24&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Step 1: Popular vote is held.

Registered voters in each state vote on General Election Day

Step 2: Slate of electors is chosen based on the

winner of the popular vote.

The candidate that wins the state’s popular vote gets all the state’s electoral votes. This is called the

WINNER TAKE ALL SYSTEM

2008 Election: In which states did each party get a majority? How does that affect campaigns?

Step 3: Electors vote

The slate (group) of electors for the state’s winning candidate meet to cast their vote in the state capital.

Which candidate won the lowest percentage of the popular vote yet won the electoral vote to become president?

Step 4: Winner of the electoral vote

becomes president

The candidate who wins at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes becomes the next president!

http://www.270towin.com/

Senator Durbin

2000 ElectionGeorge Bush

Popular Vote50,461,092

Electoral Vote271

Al Gore

Popular Vote50,994,086

Electoral Vote266

Electoral College ReviewThis “indirect” process is used only

selecting the president and vice president

All other elected representatives are voted in directly by the voters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaMhTQPy9eE&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Popular Vote

Electoral Vote

ElectorsThe number of electors for each state is

based on the state’s Congressional Representation.

Congressional Representation means the number of people who work in the US Congress for each state.

2 senators + # of House membersLet’s practice!

If you were running for President, which states would you want to win?

• Candidates target densely populated states (states with more people) for campaigning because they have more electoral votes

• In tight elections, candidates must also pay attention to less populated states whose electoral votes may make the difference.

Candidates must winOf the electoral votes to win

to become president.

Why might the requirement of a majority vote to win the Electoral College favor a two-party system?

270538

Inauguration Day

January 20th

Conclusion(write at the bottom or on the lined page)

Explain the process of how the Electoral College selects the president and vice president.

Academic- get it stampedHonors- get a peer response

Homework• 1. Complete the worksheet activities on the

Electoral College.

• 2. Get a study guide for the test next class. This will be the 1st grade of the second quarter.

• 3. Complete the Electoral College election results worksheet

• 4. Have your notebook organized and ready to grade.

Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the answer.

Why did the Founders create the Electoral College system?Some Founders wanted the people to have direct control over the national government. They wanted direct election. Others believed that the government must be able to function without having to give in to popular whims. They wanted Congress to choose the president. They compromised by having state legislatures choose electors.

Presidential Elections (cont.)

(pages 242–244)

No formal procedure for nominating the president existed from 1789 to 1796. Political leaders, working through the Electoral College, unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president.