The Electoral College
The Electoral College
When a president is elected with less than a majority of the total votes cast, many people scratch their heads, especially when they learn the Electoral College is the explanation. That’s what happened in 2000, when George Bush won the Electoral College although he had fewer popular votes than Al Gore.
At first glance, the Electoral College may sound like a wicked plot to keep the public from electing their choice. Some have even called it outdated.
Your view may depend on where you live, at least once you understand how it works. It’s designed to prevent states with large populations from controlling the presidency while the smaller states have no say. If you live in Florida, New York or California, you might find it frustrating. But if you’re from Wyoming, Montana or South Dakota, you might call it brilliant.
In a nutshell, the plan gives every state one vote for each of its U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives. Since the House is divvied up according to population, the most populous states wind up with more votes. But not complete control, for two reasons.
First, every state gets two senators regardless of size. Second, even the tiniest state gets at least one member of the House. So a state like Alaska that only has 630,000 residents gets a House seat even though its population is 17,000 less than the minimum size district otherwise.
Political experts say the Electoral College keeps presidential candidates from ignoring the concerns of the people living in small states, such as farming or mid-continent highways. Imagine what candidates would campaign on if they only needed the votes of a few large states with big cities.
Consider the election in 1980 when Jimmy Carter’s 35 million votes gave him 44 percent of the popular vote to Ronald Reagan’s 44 million or 56 percent. The contest wasn’t even close in the Electoral College, though, where Carter only won 49 votes to Reagan’s 489 because Carter’s popularity was the majority in just six states and the District of Columbia -- two of which were his home state of Georgia and his running mate Walter Mondale’s home of Minnesota.
Here’s how it works:
You actually vote for a slate of “electors” selected by the political parties of each candidate. The number of electors equals the electoral votes for the state.
After all the popular votes are counted, the state’s top election official certifies the total. Then the electors for the party with the most votes will meet on the Monday following the second Wednesday in December at the state capitol to formally cast their ballots for the presidential candidate of their party.
Next on Jan. 6, the members of Congress will count the votes cast by the Electoral College and declare a winner. If no candidate has a majority, the House votes by state to pick the president.
