How should we elect the president of the United States?
whereas | majority | electoral | represent | assign
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Do the Math
Do the Math
Whereas most presidents have won the popular vote, there have been five presidential elections (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016) where the president did not win the popular vote.
In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush ran against Al Gore. Bush became president after losing the popular vote but winning the majority in the Electoral College. This election was fiercely contested because Bush won the state of Florida and the 25 electoral votes it was assigned by only 537 individual votes out of 5.96 million cast in the state. This table represents some data about the election results for all of the United States.
Option 1:
Option 1:
What percentage of electoral votes did Bush win?
A. 50.5%
B. 26.6%
C. 98.1%
D. 49.5%
Option 2:
Option 2:
How many more individual votes did Gore get than Bush? What percentage is this number out of the total votes cast for Bush and Gore?
Discussion Question:
Discussion Question:
Some Americans say they do not bother voting in presidential elections because they do not think their vote will make a difference. Consider these examples:
In Vermont, 60% typically vote for the democratic candidate.
In Wyoming, 60% typically vote for the republican candidate.
In Pennsylvania, the vote is split fairly evenly.
If a voter planned to vote republican in each of these states, would they vote? What if they planned to vote democrat? Some people argue that switching to a popular vote would give every person an equal reason to vote. Do you think more people would actually vote in a popular vote presidential election? Do you think that is a good reason to change the electoral system?
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