What is the Electoral College?
The Electoral College is the group of citizens designated by each state to vote for the president and vice-president on behalf of citizens. The candidate that wins the majority of the votes in any given state is given all the electoral votes from that state. The Electoral College, not the popular vote, elects the president, but the two votes are loosely connected.
Often misunderstood today, the Electoral College was established early in our country’s history and continues to play an important role in the American political process. Although the name suggests ivy-covered walls and classrooms filled with books, the Electoral College is responsible for formally selecting the next president and vice president of the United States. On the evening of Tuesday, November 4, most Americans will be watching the televised results of the 2008 Presidential Election. But even after the final votes are tallied and the winner is announced, our choice for president and vice president is not official until the Electoral College casts its votes December 15. The Electoral College is comprised of 538 people, known as electors, chosen nationwide to meet in their home states and cast one vote per person for president and vice president. Michigan has 17 electors to reflect the number of senators and representatives it has in the U.S. Congress. Presidential candidates on
When the Founding Fathers set up the U.S. government, they were afraid that high population areas would dominate Presidential elections. In a direct election, Presidential candidates could only campaign in population centers and ignore rural areas and small states. Because of this, they created the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a group of people that gets together to actually elect the President. Each state get a number of electors equal to their congressional delegation. For example, Utah has 2 Senators and 3 Representatives. Therefore, Utah gets 5 electors in the college. California, on the other hand, has 2 Senators and 53 Representatives. Therefore, California gets 55 electors. I am not sure exactly how individuals are chosen to be electors, but that is probably something that decided differently in each state. Who ever is chosen is expected to vote for the candidates as determined by the laws of the state and the popular vote in the state. For example, almost all of
Excerpted from fairvote.org: The system of the Electoral College was established in Article II, section I, of the U.S. Constitution. It was modified mainly by the 12th Amendment, which clarified the process. When U.S. citizens vote for President and Vice President every election year, they are actually electing a set of individual “Electors” to represent their state. The Electors from every state combine to form the Electoral College. Each state is given a set number of Electors, determined by the number of the its U.S. Senators (which is always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives. The number of Representatives in each state correlates with the state population and is amended every decade when the Census is taken. On election day, ballots show the names of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, though voters are really selecting which set of Electors they would like to represent their state.
