3.1 What is the Electoral College?

Objective:

  • I will be able to explain how the Electoral College works and think through arguments about why it was adopted.

Some useful vocabulary:

  • Delegation: The group of Congressmen or electors that represents each state.

  • Elector: The people who actually elect the President.

Watch: "Who are the Electors?" song by They Might Be Giants

Lyrics can be found here.

Directions:

  1. Choose your learning path today! In order to meet the objectives, you can watch or read. Whichever learning path you choose, check to make sure you know What the Electoral College is, workbook page 3.1.1.

Watch "The Electoral College: Why Such a Big Debate?"

What if no candidate wins 270 electoral votes?

As we have seen, you have to win 270 electoral votes (out of a total of 538) to be elected president. But what happens if no candidate wins 270 votes? For example, what happens if both candidates win 269 votes? This last happened all the way back in 1824. Fortunately, the Constitution has an answer: If nobody wins a majority of the electoral votes, then "the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for president."

In other words, if there's a tie, the House of Representatives votes on the president. But there's a catch! The House of Representatives will vote by state delegations. That means even though Massachusetts has nine members of the House of Representatives, the entire state will only have one vote.

Read "The Electoral College, Explained" (CNN)

Debate: The Electoral College and Slavery

Directions:

  1. Read these two articles debating the relationship between the Electoral College and slavery.

  2. Complete workbook page 3.1.2 to help process your ideas about Slavery and the Electoral College.

Explore: How to Win the Electoral College Vote

Directions:

  1. Explore the New York Times' electoral college simulation to better see how you win a majority in the electoral college. Click on "potential outcome" to see different scenarios.

*NOTE: To create a free New York Times account, click on the three-line menu icon in the upper left corner of that page. Then click "More", and choose "Manage Account". You should then be able to input your own email and create a password for your free account!

Dark red = Very likely to vote for the Republicans.

Light red = Somewhat likely to vote for the Republicans.

Yellow = Swing state, could vote either the Democrats or the Republicans.

Dark blue = Very likely to vote for the Democrats.

Light blue = Somewhat likely to vote for the Democrats