A Brief History of the Electoral College How our Presidents are Elected.
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A Brief History of the Electoral College How our Presidents are Elected
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Transcript of A Brief History of the Electoral College How our Presidents are Elected.
A Brief History of the Electoral College
How our Presidents are Elected
How it Works:• Each state gets two
electors, one for each senator
• …and one for each representative.
Representatives are allotted by population.
• Big States like California get a lot.
• …And small states like South Dakota get fewer.
3 votes
Washington D.C.• In 1961 the 23rd
amendment gave
the District of Columbia 3 electoral votes.
• …the same as a small state.
3 votes
Let’s do the math.• 50 states times 2 senators
each = 100 votes• Plus 435 representatives
=535 votes• Plus 3 for D.C. =538 votes• It takes at least 270 votes
to win.
100 + 435
+3 =538
1800• In the election of 1800,
Thomas Jefferson and his vice presidential running mate, Aaron Burr were tied at 73 electoral votes a piece.
• In took Congress days to break the deadlock.
• Finally Jefferson was chosen by the House of Representatives and Burr became vice president.
• To prevent this problem from recurring, the twelfth Amendment allows for separate ballots for president and vice president.
Jefferson was chosen in what he called The Revolution of 1800.
Like a later vice president, Aaron Burr liked to shoot people.
1824• In 1824, popular war hero,
Andrew Jackson was the favorite among voters but…
• When no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes..
• The House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams.
• Jackson accused Adams of making a corrupt bargain with powerful Congressman, Henry Clay. Adams was popular
in the House of Representatives.
Jackson was the people’s favorite.
1860• Abraham
Lincoln won the Election of 1860 without winning a single southern state.
• Shortly afterwards the American Civil War began.
1876• In 1876 Samuel Tilden
who was popular with southerners and the New York Democratic machine received the most popular votes but…
• …The House picked Rutherford B. Hayes who vowed to end reconstruction.
When Roosevelt ran with James Cox in 1920
• He lost but…
Harding won
Franklin Roosevelt
• Won by a landslide in 1932
Franklin Roosevelt
» And again in 1936
F.D.R
• And again in 1944!
1972
• In 1972 Richard Nixon didn’t need to cheat in order to win, but…
• He did anyway and was forced to resign in 1974 as a result of the Watergate scandal.
1984
• In 1984 Ronald Reagan won in a landslide.
2000• In 2000 Vice President
Al Gore won the most popular votes but…
• George W. Bush won the electoral vote when he picked up the disputed state of Florida.
• The Supreme court halted a recount of the Florida votes which may have altered the outcome.
2004
• In 2004 President Bush won the popular vote and was reelected, but had he lost the disputed state of Ohio, the election would have gone the other way.
A uniter, not a divider.
He was for it before he was against it.
Here’s what happened in 2008
President Obama won 365 to
173 with 53% of the popular votes.
President Obama
Here’s the breakdown by county from 2008.
• San Diego County went for Obama.
Final 2012
Of Course, you never know.• President Harry Truman is smiling because, despite predictions of a Dewey victory, Truman won.
