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Electing the President

Delve into the history and workings of the Electoral College system in the United States, from the original method of electing presidents to the impact of political parties and current issues. Explore how electors cast their votes, the role of political parties, and the potential implications of the winner-take-all system. Discover the controversies and proposed changes to this unique system, and learn about the presidential inauguration process.

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Electing the President

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  1. Electing the President Chapter 8 Section 2

  2. Section 2 The Original System • Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution establishes the Electoral college. • Each state legislature would set up a method for choosing people who would be the electors. • The electorswould meet in their state at election time to cast their electoral votefor the president.

  3. Section 2 The Original System (cont.) • In the original system, electoral votes from all the states would be counted in a joint session of Congress. • The candidate receiving a majority would become president and the candidate with the second-highest number—also a majority—would become vice president.

  4. Section 2 The Impact of Political Parties • The Twelfth Amendment requires that the electors cast separate ballots for president and vice president. • It also provides that if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the House chooses from the three candidates with the largest number of elector votes.

  5. Section 2 The Electoral College System Today • Today parties choose their nominees for president in conventions held in late summer. • Voters cast their ballots for president every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. • Voters are not voting directly for president or vice president but instead voting for all of their party’s electors—the slate of electors—in their state.

  6. Section 2 Electoral College Issues • In all but two states, Maine and Nebraska, if a candidate wins the largest number of popular votes, that person receives all the state’s electoral votes. • The winner-take-all system makes it possible for a candidate who loses the overall popular vote to win the electoral vote. Popular and Electoral Votes in Select Elections

  7. Section 2 Electoral College Issues (cont.) • A third-party candidate could win enough electoral votes to prevent either major-party candidate from receiving a majority of votes. • People sometimes criticize the Electoral College system when problems arise. Many changes to the system have been proposed.

  8. Section 2 The Inauguration • Until the inauguration in late January, the new president is referred to as the president-elect. • The new president takes office at noon on January 20 in the year following the presidential election.

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