The electoral college

Who was the electoral college devised by?

They founding fathers

What is the electoral college a method of doing?

In directly electing the president

who are people actually choosing ?

Electors to the electoral college- the electors then vote for the president

How are the number of ECV’s decided?

Population + 2

How many ECVS are needed to win?

270

in all but 2 states how are ECVS awarded?

“Winner takes all” method- the winner of popular vote takes all the ECV’s

Who lost the election despite winning the popular vote?

* Al Gore (2000)
* Hillary Clinton (2016) won 3 million votes more than Trump

What do supporters of the electoral college say it preserves?

The voice of minorities and smaller states

What does the electoral college promote?

A two party system- winner will usually win a majority of popular vote

In the last 38 elections how many times has the winner won the popular vote?

26 elections

What does the electoral college require a President to win support from?

Support from a wide variety of states

What does the Electoral College ensure?

A decisive outcome

In 2008 and 2012 which states did Obama have to win over to win the election ?

* States that didn’t swing strongly towards the democracts.

If all states used to system of Maine (district based) in 2000 what would have been the outcome?

Bush would have won even more ECV’s- no better systems that EC

Why are reforms unlikely to pass?

Smaller states won’t agree on reform as they benefit the most from the system

What is there no agreement on, preventing electoral reform?

Which system should replace it

How would you argue against the belief that voters do not care about electoral reform?

2/5 of last elections have resulted in the winner of popular vote losing- reform of electoral college is now discussed in democrat primaries in 2020- appears that republicans have an advantage due to support from smaller states

What is the fundamental flaw of the electoral College?

The loser can win

how many more votes would Clinton need in 3 states to win?

78,000 more votes in 3 states to win.

How many more votes did Clinton win over Trump?

3 million

Why did Clinton win 3 million more votes yet lose?

She won over big cities by large majorities (however only needed to win popular vote by 1 vote to win)

How many more votes did Clinton receive in California over the requirement needed to win the ECV’s?

1 million (those votes therefore wasted)

What does the wining candidate in elections such as 2016 lack in the eyes of the public?

legitimacy

What is the impact of the “winner takes all system”

It has distorted resulted

What percentage of the of vote did Clinton win 1996 in comparison to the percentage of Electoral College vote?

49% of vote

70% of electoral college vote (winner’s bonus)

How many ECVS does California have and how many people does it represent?

55 electoral College votes

Population of 39 million people

How many ECV’s does Wyoming have and how many people does it represent?

3 Electoral College votes

500,000 population

If California was to receive ECVS in proportion to its population how many ECVS would it have?

70 ECV’s

Who does the EC disadvantage ?

Minor parties

In 1992, what percentage of the vote did Ross Poro win and how many ECVs win?

19% of vote

0 ECVS

What does the system force candidates to focus on?

Swing states- ignores safe sates

In how many states, are electors not legally compelled to vote for the candidate that won that state?

29

In 2016 how many “faithless” electors were there?

7 (5 for Hillary, 2 for Trump)

When do faithless electors matter ?

When there is a close Race

What does the even number of 528 ECVS mean there could be?

A tie

What is the “automatic plan”

Electors would automatically have to vote for the candidate that wins the popular vote (eg North Carolina)

What is the difficultly of this “automatic plan” ?

Difficulty In implementing as the constitution is specific about the freedom of electors to choose- should be wise men who can make decisions on behalf on those who are not wise.

In Maine and Nebraska how are ECVS distributed?

Awarded separately to the winner of each congressional district

Who could the Maine+Nebraska system give an opportunity to?

Minor parties

Why may Conservatives/Democrats not favour the Maine/Nebraska system?

Can favour minor parties so not favoured by Larger parties

In order for the proportional system to work, what would need to change for it to work nationally ?

Every state would need to change their state laws or a constitutional amendment

What does the proportional system not guarantee ?

Fairness

In 2012, who would have won if there was the district system of Maine+Nebraska?

Romne (274 votes) despite losing popular vote by 4%

If we had a direct election, with lots of minor parties what could be the result?

A lack of government with a majority

What may happen within a direct election?

Smaller states may be ignored.

What is the national popular vote inter state compact?

* combines ECV and direct election
* Individual states will give all their ECV to the winner of the national popular vote

What do you not need for the National Popular Vote Inter State Compact?

a constitutional amendment- need States representing 270 of ECVS to sign up to it