Exploring the American Political System
The Nuts and Bolts of the Electoral College
Today, the Electoral College will meet and cast their ballots for the next U.S. President and Vice President. The founders established this process at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 after much debate over how best to hold a fair and sound national election among a federation of states.
What Constitutes the Electoral College?
The Electoral College is comprised of 538 electors ([link removed]) , one for each U.S. senator and House representative. There are three electors to represent the District of Columbia. State legislatures determine how to select their own electors ([link removed]) and the laws that govern them.
There are two systems for awarding electoral votes ([link removed]) : winner-take-all and the district system. Maine and Nebraska are the only states to use the district system, which allows the state to split electors according to the popular vote in each congressional district. Electors of the other states vote according to the total popular vote for their respective states.
How Does the Process Work?
In accordance with U.S. Code, ([link removed].) state electors meet ([link removed]) the "first Monday after the second Wednesday in December" to cast their ballots, this year on December 14.
1. The electors meet in their respective states, cast their ballots, andsign and seal six certificates ([link removed]) with their votes: one to Congress, two to the Secretary of State of each state, two to the National Archives, and one to the Chief Judge of the federal district court in which the electors assembled.
2. These 'Certificates of Vote' will accompany the 'Certificates of Ascertainment ([link removed]) ' submitted by the governors of each state after the election, which list the names of electors appointed and the number of votes cast for each person.
3. Congress unseals the certificates and counts the ballots on January 6 ([link removed]) in alphabetical order according to state.
What about 'faithless' electors?
Electors are not required by the Constitution or federal law to vote for the party that nominated them. Any consequences of defecting are contingent on individual state laws. Currently, 33 states have enacted laws to limit electors' choices, ranging from civil fines to criminal penalties.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that it is constitutional for states to enact laws ([link removed]) that bind electors to their candidates.
In only 90 votes out of the 23,507 cast in the United States' history ([link removed]) has an elector not voted for the candidate they were called to vote for. This includes the 2016 election, when there were seven faithless electors ([link removed]) : 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans.
Why does the Electoral College exist?
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The founders created a revolutionary form of government based on the idea that government should be formed by the people. But at the time, no other country held direct elections of their leaders, leaving them without any real world example.
The framers struggled over how to set up a fair process that would allow the people to elect their own president while addressing the varying interests among the federation of states and preventing a corruptible national election ([link removed]) .
Among their concerns, a direct popular vote would give densely populated states much more power in choosing presidents. And in turn, candidates would have incentive to prioritize the interests of the populous states, leaving other states with little voice.
Alternatively, if Congress were to choose the president, that could present opportunity for corruption between the executive and legislative branches and leave some citizens feeling unheard.
Representing the Will of Citizens
After a great amount of deliberation, they compromised ([link removed]) by devising the Electoral College system, established in Article II, Section I of the Constitution ([link removed]) (later modified by the 12th ([link removed]) (1804) and 23rd ([link removed]) (1961) amendments).
The founders imagined that Americans would be citizens of their states, first, and the federal government, second. The states would be in a better position to address the concerns of their own citizens. Establishing the Electoral College protected the varying interests of individual states and helped preserve our government's role as a federal republic.
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Difficult and contentious times bring to light the founders' deep considerations in creating a new form of government and establishing constitutional provisions to keep the nation strong, balanced, and stable.
At the Jack Miller Center, we believe that such times reinforce the need for students to learn about the principles of the American founding. Such education is necessary so that they may carry out their roles as citizens in preserving and protecting the American constitutional order.
Click here to support teaching of our founding principles and history ([link removed])
About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.
We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.
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