1 / 35

The Electoral College

The Electoral College. A magnificent anachronism. Clearly Communicated Learning Objectives. Discuss the Electoral College and the strategy of presidential campaigns. Why all The Anger- The 2000 Election of Course. The Media called the election too soon The Supreme Court intervened

mary-mullins
Download Presentation

The Electoral College

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Electoral College A magnificent anachronism

  2. Clearly Communicated Learning Objectives • Discuss the Electoral College and the strategy of presidential campaigns

  3. Why all The Anger- The 2000 Election of Course • The Media called the election too soon • The Supreme Court intervened • The Popular vote winner did not win the Presidency

  4. A brief period of anger • HRC says her first act as Senator would be to reform it • And O.J. said he would spend all of his time trying to find the real killer • Institutional reform trumps anger

  5. 2004 a Close Call • Ohio was very close • A small Number of People could have swung the election • http://uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/GENERAL/pe2004whatif.html

  6. Obama Saves the electoral college! But problems remain

  7. Problems of the Electoral College • Faithless electors • http://archive.fairvote.org/e_college/faithless.htm • Problem of the Unit Rule

  8. Problems of the Electoral College • Potential for Gridlock • Over-representation of small states • Minor parties are always hurt, everywhere, all the time

  9. Problems of the Electoral College • Potential for Minority-Vote winner (2000, 1996, 1992, 1968, 1960) • Potential for a wrong winner

  10. Attempts at Reform http://www.entertonement.com/clips/wyscptdhjq--Dune-Sian-Phillips-The-Reverend-Mother-Gaius-Helen-Mohiam-Kyle-MacLachlan-Tried-And-Failed-Tried-and-Died

  11. Attempts at Reform • 1950 • 1969 • 1979

  12. Some States have made changes • Article II, Section I allows the states to decide how they choose their electors • Maine and Nebraska use a different method (Congressional District Winner + overall winner)

  13. Potential Reforms! • The Proportional Plan • The District Plan • The Direct Plan • State Compact-National Popular Vote

  14. The Proportional Plan • This plan divides Electoral votes based on the popular vote totals from each state. • Advantages

  15. The District Plan • A state’s Electoral Vote is equal to the number of Senators (2) plus the number of Representatives which varies by state. • Advantages

  16. The Direct Plan • The other plans keep the Electoral College intact, this plan deems the NATIONWIDE popular vote winner as the president. • Advantages

  17. Different Elections Under Each Scenario

  18. The Election of 1960

  19. The Election of 1968

  20. The Election of 1976

  21. The Election of 1992

  22. The Election of 2000

  23. The Election of 2004

  24. Disadvantages of Each

  25. The Direct Plan Under this plan, 2 elections would have vastly different results • 1960- Nixon defeats Kennedy • 2000- Gore Defeats Bush • Recounts, Runoffs, Fraud

  26. The Proportional Plan This is the most unsteady • 1960, 1968, 1976,1992, 1996, 2000 • Do we want George Wallace to determine our president? • Colorado failed to Pass and Amendment on this

  27. The District Plan • This would increase the amount of Gerrymandering beyond its current state. • Changes several Elections • No major state has tried it

  28. State Compact • Working its Way through the states • http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ • Electors would be required to vote for the popular vote winner • The Matter of the Constitution

  29. Will it Change?

  30. The Electoral CollegeGet Used to it • What Is Necessary for Change • Institutional Difficulties

  31. Why No Change?- Some Groups love it! • The Parties • Small States • Big States • Battleground states

  32. Advantages of the System • A Proven Track Record • Faithless electors are more fun than anything else • The Evil Best Known is the Most Tolerable

  33. Advantages of the E.C. • Minority Groups • Presidents • Federalism

  34. The 2008 Election • The Obama victory preserved the Electoral College • Absolutely no question about legitimacy

  35. The Fear of Unanticipated Consequences

More Related