Answering Questions

Dump_the_Electoral_CollegeChapter3.pptx

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The Big Questions

“Should we dump the Electoral College?”

Introduction

The U.S. Constitution established the Electoral College as our system for electing a president. Since the 1800s, there have been a handful of cases in which a candidate has won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote. For instance, in the 2000 election, Al Gore won roughly half a million more votes than G. W. Bush, but Gore lost the electoral vote and, consequently, the presidency. In the 2016 election, Donald Trump received 304 electoral votes, but he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by almost 3 million votes.

Should we dump the Electoral College?

Key Topics (1 of 1)

The origins of the Electoral College

The ways in which the Electoral College distorts the popular vote

Mechanisms by which the Electoral College could be abolished

Alternative methods for choosing presidents

Popular sovereignty—the will of the people—and democracy

Key Terms/People (1 of 3)

Electoral College: A unique American institution created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by popular vote within each state.

electors: Members of the Electoral College who cast votes for the president.

electoral vote: The number of votes each state has in the Electoral College, which is equal to its number of representatives and senators in Congress.

popular vote: The total number of votes each candidate receives in an election.

Key Terms/People (2 of 3)

first-pass-the-post: Method of voting in which the candidate who wins the most votes wins the election regardless of other votes cast.

American exceptionalism: Facets of American democracy that are unique by comparison with democracies in other parts of the world.

gerrymandering: The act of drawing the borders of congressional districts into units that confer special advantages to one group or one party.

popular sovereignty: Doctrine that holds that government should be subject to the will of the people.

Key Terms/People (3 of 3)

battleground states: The states (CO, FL, IA, MI, MN, NV, NC, OH, VA, WI, and PA) where presidential campaigns focus their resources because battleground states are most likely to decide the outcome of Electoral College votes. Battleground states are also known as swing states.

Video

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