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VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 Should the Electoral College Count?

GRAPHIC BY FARHANA HOSSAIN—THE POST INSIDE Article II Distribution Improve on Red The Debate of Electoral vs. Blue 4 6 College Votes 9 12 November 23, 2004 © 2004 COMPANY VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program

Should the Electoral College Count? Wha t ’s It About?

L esson: Six weeks after voters On the first Monday after the htt p: //www.archiv es.gov /federal_ have indicated their choice for pres- second Wednesday in December, register /electoral_co lleg e/ ident and vice president, electors electors meet together in their U.S. Electoral College meet to cast their ballots. Why did states and D.C. to vote by ballot The U.S. National Archives and the writers of the U.S. Constitution for president and vice president. Records Administration provides a devise the Electoral College and Six original Certificates of Vote, thorough background on the Electoral are electors still necessary? listing all persons receiving votes College. In addition to the FAQs, L evel: Middle to high for president and for vice president, Subjects: Government, must be prepared by the electors. sections include “How Electors civics, history If a candidate for either office Vote,” “Electoral College Calculator” R ela ted A ctivity: Language does not receive a vote, his or her and “Historical Election Results.” arts, mathematics name is not listed. More infor- Teaching resources include NARA mation about the requirements lesson plans and links to other sites. National, state and local elections can be found at www.nara.gov. lend themselves to a look at the Not until passage of the Twenty- htt p: //www. pbs.org /elect ions/kids/ requirements, process and impact third Amendment in 1961 did D.C. B y the People: Election 2004 of elections. This is the third of residents have the right to vote in PBS created activities to involve young five online guides that focus on presidential elections. Regardless people in the voting process. From the the broad question: Whose vote of its population, D.C. receives “Teachers” section select the lesson plan really counts? In this guide, we three electoral votes, the same examine the Electoral College. as the least populated states. for “Is the Electoral College Out of Date?” Established by the Founding Academic standards of Maryland, Fathers as a compromise between and D.C. that apply to the htt p: //jceb .co .jackson. mo .us/ election of the president by activities in this guide are provided. fun_stuff/electoral_co lleg e.htm Congress and election by popular The following national standard T he Electoral College vote, the Electoral College today for history is also applicable. Jackson County, Missouri, provides is composed of 538 electors. The Standard 5: The student engages an easy-to-understand history and procedure by which the electors in historical issues-analysis and changing designs of the Electoral vote was changed with the Twelfth decision-making. The student is College, the process of selecting Amendment in 1804—no longer able to propose alternative ways of electors, and a fascinating collec- would a vice president be of a resolving the problem or dilemma tion of “historical curiosities.” rival party or two members of the and evaluate each in terms of same party not know who was ethical consideration, the interest of president and who vice president. the people involved, and the likely htt p: //www.archiv es.gov /exhibit_hall/ The process for selecting elec- consequences of each proposal. treasures_o f_congress/pag e_ 7.html tors varies throughout the United This guide suggests some ways T he House Selects a P resident States. Generally, the political to use the materials included. National Archives page includes the parties nominate electors at Your students may be encour- tally sheet of electoral votes cast at the their state party conventions or aged to read The Post for more 1801 meeting of the Electoral College. by a vote of the party’s central coverage of the Electoral College. committee in each state. In Maine htt p: //www.socialstud ies- and Nebraska, two electors are Capit alize It or No t? forkids.com /art icles/gov ern - chosen by state-wide popular vote The Associated Press Stylebook ment /t heelectoralco lleg e.htm and the rest by popular vote in and dictionaries agree that congressional districts. You might Electoral Co lleg e should be capital- T he Electoral College ask your students if they know ized, and words and phrases such as Social Studies for Kids provides how their electors are selected elector and electoral votes should basic information on the process and who these individuals are. and a look at the elections of C ONTINUED ON PAGE 3 1800, 1824, 1876 and 2000.

2 November 23, 2004 VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program

C ONTINUED FR OM PAGE 2 is still applicable today? How In the Know might they change the process? not be capitalized. Although The Three opinion pieces are included Amendment: A formal revision o f, addi- Washington Post does not capitalize in this guide: “The Non-College tion to , or change to the Constitution Electoral College in most sections Try,” a Washington Post edito- of the newspaper, we will follow rial; “Improve on Red vs. Blue,” Direct Popular Vo te: A majority o f the conventional use in this guide. a commentary by Post columnist William Raspberry; and “Repair the the vo tes cast by U.S. citizens Disc over How It Work s Electoral College,” by guest colum- Give students “How the Electoral nist Peter Shane. Each presents a Elector s: A body o f people selected by College Works.” This graphic different perspective. These may e ach p arty within a st a te tha t is numerically appeared in the Nov. 2, 2004, Post. be read as homework, summarized Note the example of how a “tie” for plan presented, evaluated and equal to the st a te’s c ongressional delega- vote might occur and the consti- discussed in class. Or the class tion, represent a tives plus sena tor s. tutional answer to that situation. may be divided into three groups You may also wish to use “Electoral with each group receiving one Electoral College: The s ystem for the elec- Votes in Proportion.” Each square of the opinion pieces. Their task tion o f the president and vic e president o f represents one elector. How does is to determine the perspective this map change students’ perspec- given, list the pro-con sides and the United S t a tes. It is the c ollective name tive? Does every vote count? then argue for it in a class discus- for a group o f elector s nomina ted by political “There is no constitutional sion. Use “The Debate About p arties within the st a tes and popularly elected right for individual citizens to vote the Electoral College System.” for president. The framers of the who meet to vo te for those two o f f ic es. Constitution chose not to estab- S tudy Rights lish a national standard for voter In this activity, students will Framer s: The group o f people who eligibility or participation in presi- learn why the Electoral College drafted the Constitution in 1787 dential elections. Individual states was created, how the Electoral can choose their electors through College functions today, and P roportionality: A method o f c ounting vo tes a popular election—or not,” prospects for the future of the states Linda Monk in T he Words Electoral College by debating where the Electoral College vo tes are alloca ted We Liv e By. “Beginning with and voting on the issues. acc or ding to the per c ent age o f the popular Pennsylvania in 1788, an increasing Distribute “The Electoral vo te e ach candida te wins. (For ex ample, if number of states gradually allowed College: History, Present and citizens to vote for presidential Future.” Ask students to read it there are three candida tes running in a st a te electors. Now all states do.” as homework or in class. Engage with 10 Electoral College vo tes, the winner Apply mathematics skills to students in a brief discussion to c ould t ake 6 vo tes, the sec ond-plac e candi- explain the rationale for the ensure understanding of the issues. da te c ould t ake 3 vo tes and the thir d-plac e Electoral College. Use the chart They may be given “Debate Over on page 14 or the map on page the Electoral College System” at candida te c ould win the remaining vo te.) 15 in the October guide to record this time or when in groups. the 2004 election results. You Divide students into the R epresent a tive Democrac y: The ide a can use the numbers to deter- following groups of 2-4 students: tha t government is run by the people mine the result of the electors’ • Representatives from voting in December and to play a small state who favor the and the people elect represent a tives to some “what if” scenarios. current Electoral College; run the government on their behalf • Representatives from a large Get an Outlook state who would like to change W inner-Take-All: A method o f c ounting Find out what students think the method of counting votes vo tes where the candida te who wins the about the Electoral College. Do they within the Electoral College; understand why it was created? most vo tes wins the entire allo tment o f Do they think that reasoning C ONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Electoral College vo tes for tha t st a te

3 November 23, 2004 VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program

C ONTINUED FR OM PAGE 3 If time permits, a representative a “lame duck”? If the result of the of the voters can explain to the class 2000 election had not been deter- Representatives who would like to how they reached their decision. mined by noon of January 20, 2001, eliminate the Electoral College entirely. who would have been president? • The remaining students in the Ar gue the Fa te o f the Electoral College class should consider and discuss the Ask students to write a persuasive 3. In what way did the civil rights pros and cons of the relevant argu- essay in which they argue whether movement influence passage of the ments. These students should prepare the Electoral College is pertinent or Twenty-third Amendment? “As of questions to ask the Representatives. outdated. In it they are to include 1960, the District of Columbia had Give each group a copy of historic perspective and current about eight hundred thousand citi- “Distribution of Electoral Votes” and demographic, social and political zens—more than thirteen other states,” “Debate Over the Electoral College considerations. If they believe the states Linda Monk in T he Words We System.” When the small groups are Electoral College is outdated, they are Liv e By: Your A nnotated Guide to ready, they should choose one or two to propose an alternative. What are t he Const itut ion . “African Americans representatives who will present to the ethical considerations and likely constituted a large majority of these the remaining students their justi- consequences of their proposals? citizens, which raised racial justice fications for their proposal for the issues during the onset of the civil future of the Electoral College. After Extension rights movement. The District’s popula- each presentation, the “voters” will 1. Research the elections of 1876, tion has decreased significantly since have the opportunity to ask ques- 1800, 1824 and 2000. What influence that time—to six hundred thousand as tions, voicing their concerns about did the Electoral College and House of of the 2000 census, and only Wyoming the Representative’s strategy. Representatives have in each election? had a smaller population. In addition, Finally, the “voters” will delib- whites composed a greater proportion erate and decide upon the fate 2. Research the Twentieth of the District’s population in 2000.” of the Electoral College. Amendment to the Constitution. Why was it necessary? When is an official

Article II. Section 1

Clause 2: Each State shall appoint, Number of Votes for each; which President; and if no Person have a in such Manner as the Legislature List they shall sign and certify, and Majority, then from the five highest thereof may direct, a Number of transmit sealed to the Seat of the on the List the said House shall in like Electors, equal to the whole Number Government of the United States, Manner chuse the President. But in of Senators and Representatives to directed to the President of the chusing the President, the Votes shall which the State may be entitled in Senate. The President of the Senate be taken by States, the Representation the Congress: but no Senator or shall, in the Presence of the Senate from each State having one Vote; A Representative, or Person holding an and House of Representatives, open quorum for this Purpose shall consist Office of Trust or Profit under the all the Certificates, and the Votes of a Member or Members from two United States, shall be appointed an shall then be counted. The Person thirds of the States, and a Majority Elector. having the greatest Number of of all the States shall be necessary Votes shall be the President, if such to a Choice. In every Case, after the Clause 3: The Electors shall meet Number be a Majority of the whole Choice of the President, the Person in their respective States, and vote Number of Electors appointed; and having the greatest Number of Votes by Ballot for two Persons, of whom if there be more than one who have of the Electors shall be the Vice one at least shall not be an Inhabitant such Majority, and have an equal President. But if there should remain of the same State with themselves. Number of Votes, then the House of two or more who have equal Votes, And they shall make a List of all Representatives shall immediately the Senate shall chuse from them by the Persons voted for, and of the chuse by Ballot one of them for Ballot the Vice President.

4 November 23, 2004 Electoral Votes in Proportion Each square represents one electoral vote. VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program Distribution of Electoral College Vo tes

Needed to Elect: 270 To t al Electoral Vo te: 538

Alab ama F lorida L ouisiana Nebrask a Oklahoma Questions to 1981-1990: 9 1981-1990: 21 1981-1990: 10 1981-1990: 5 1981-1990: 8 1981-1990: 3 Consider 1991-2000: 9 1991-2000: 25 1991-2000: 9 1991-2000: 5 1991-2000: 8 1991-2000: 3 1. Wha t was the 2001-2010: 9 2001-2010: 27 2001-2010: 9 2001-2010: 5 2001-2010: 7 2001-2010: 3 original purpose o f the Electoral Alask a Geor gia Maine Nevada Oregon V ir ginia College? Are those 3 12 4 4 7 12 purposes still met? 3 13 4 4 7 13 2. Should the 3 15 4 5 7 13 Electoral College remain the same, Arizona Ha waii Maryland New Hampshire Penns ylvania Washington under go reform 7 4 10 4 25 10 or be abolished? 8 4 10 4 23 11 Describe and 10 4 10 4 21 11 justify your suggestions for Ark ansas Idaho Massachuset ts New Jer sey Rhode Island West V ir ginia the future o f the 6 4 13 16 4 6 Electoral College. 6 4 12 15 4 5 3. How does the 6 4 12 15 4 5 Electoral College help or hurt repre- California Illinois New Mexic o South Carolina W isc onsin sent a tive democ- 47 24 20 5 8 11 rac y? I s there a 54 22 18 5 8 11 more “democra tic” 55 21 17 5 8 10 alterna tive? 4. How does Colorado Indiana Minneso t a South D ako t a Wyoming the Electoral 8 12 10 36 3 3 College af fect 8 12 10 33 3 3 P residential candi- 9 11 10 31 3 3 da tes’ camp aign stra tegies? If the Connecticut Iowa Mississippi North Carolina Tennessee Electoral College 8 8 7 13 11 were abolished, 8 7 7 14 11 how would these 7 7 6 15 11 stra tegies change? 5. Wha t role do Dela ware K ansas Missouri North D ako t a Tex as thir d p arties pla y 3 7 11 3 29 under the current 3 6 11 3 32 s ystem? If the 3 6 11 3 34 method o f c ounting D.C. Kentucky Mont ana Ut ah vo tes in st a tes 3 9 4 23 5 were changed from 3 8 3 21 5 “winner-t ake- all” 3 8 3 20 5 to proportionality, wha t role would Sour c e: Federal Election Commission thir d p arties pla y?

6 November 23, 2004 How the Electoral College Works The electoral college system drew added attention during Number of Two senators representatives for each state the last presidential race when Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election. TToottalal electelectororal sseatseats 1 Each state is allotted one elector for each U.S. representative and senator it has. Washington, D.C., receives three electors, the same number of electors as the least populous state. 2 Mostly, electors are nominated at state party conventions. The electors’ names are given to the state’s election official. 3 On Election Day, voters in each state cast their ballot Slate of party for the slate of electors representing their choice of electors presidential ticket. The electors’ names do not usually appear on the ballot. 4 The slate of electors for the presidential ticket that receives the most votes is appointed, and all the electoral votes for that state go to those candidates.* 5 A candidate needs to win a majority of electoral votes— 270—to be elected president. If no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes (see example below), the House chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president.

11 3 4 3 3 7 10 4 4 3 10 31 12 3 17 4 7 21 7 5 20 5 21 11 15 5 5 3 55 9 6 13 11 8 10 15 Opposing-party electors 11 3 7 10 5 6 8 6 9 15 34 9 3 27 4 269 269

6 In December, in a largely ceremonial gesture, the electors cast ballots for president and vice president and are The candidate who wins the popular vote expected to follow the popular vote of their state. in a state gets all of the electoral votes.* 7 The votes are counted at a joint session of Congress, and the president officially is elected.

*Except in Maine and Nebraska, which each give two at-large delegates to whoever wins the state and the rest to whoever wins in each congressional district.

Previous Close Calls 1824 POPULAR VOTE ELECTORAL VOTE John Quincy Adams 30.9% 84 Four times in U.S. history, the Andrew Jackson 41.3 99 candidate who won the Henry Clay 13.1 37 popular vote lost the election. William H. Crawford 11.2 41 In 1824, the House decided 1876 the election because no Harrison candidate won a majority of Rutherford B. Hayes 48.0% 185 electoral votes. Samuel J. Tilden 51.0 184 1888 Elected president Benjamin Harrison 47.8% 233 **One D.C. elector abstained. Grover Cleveland 48.6 168 2000 SOURCES: Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to U.S. Elections, Federal Election Commission, George W. Bush 47.8% 271 Associated Press Al Gore 48.4 266** Gore

THE WASHINGTON POST VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program The Non-College Try

Washington Post Ed itorial WHOEVER WINS the most electoral that candidates ignore the jurisdictions N ov ember 1, 2004 votes tomorrow—and let’s hope we they expect to win or lose handily and know tomorrow night—will be the focus exclusively on expected “battle- president-elect, thanks to the strange grounds.” The result: A majority of and anachronistic institution called Americans are left out of the campaign. the Electoral College. At this stage, it’s All of this could be fixed by direct possible to construct scenarios under election of the president—a system which either candidate wins a majority that could, if properly designed, ensure of the popular vote and loses the presi - elections that better reflect majority dency. If this happens, as it did in 2000, will. But if Wednesday morning head- some partisans on the losing side will lines prompt calls for reform, it will challenge the legitimacy of the winner. be worth remembering a few things. The complaint will, once again, be frivo- First, the current system has worked lous. Both sides know the rules and the pretty well over the centuries, only possibility of an incongruous outcome. rarely producing anomalous results. But the broader question is a fair Second, change would not come one: Is the Electoral College a relic easily; s mall states would have a big that should be discarded, and, if so, incentive to block the constitutional what ought to replace it? Nobody today amendment that would be needed would design an election system like for most fundamental reform. Third, the one that America’s founders fash- any reform would have unpredict - ioned. Voters in each state choose a able, and not necessarily benefi - number of electors equal to the number cial, consequences of its own. The of senators and representatives the state Electoral College ensures that purely sends to Congress—unless, that is, the regional candidates have no chance state legislature decides to appoint the of becoming president. Direct elec - electors itself. Technically, the president tions, by contrast, could encourage isn’t even elected until these electors candidates to cultivate strong regional cast their votes, long after the people bases and campa ign minimally else - have gone to the polls. Electors are where—appealing mostly to the expected to vote for the candidate to South, say, or to the coasts. Such a whom they are pledged—though they system could also encourage inde - don’t always do so. A state’s electors are pendent candidacies that would winner-take-all—except in Maine and weaken the two-party system. To Nebraska and maybe soon in Colorado. prevent a president from being elected Small states have a disproportionate in a wide field with, say, 35 percent voice: A vote in Wyoming or here in of the vote, some provision for runoff the District of Columbia counts more elections would be necessary. That, than a vote in California. If the elec - too, can have democratic trade- toral vote is tied, the process becomes offs—as leftist French voters discov - absurd: The House of Representatives ered when they had to vote for the selects the president, with each state conservative President Jacques Chirac delegation casting a single vote, while to head off a runoff victory in 2002 by the Senate selects the vice president. ultra-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen. The founders’ intent was to put a Whoever wins this election, it is time layer of deliberation between the people for serious discussion about reforming and the presidency. A byproduct is our presidential election system.

8 November 23, 2004 VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program Outlook: Improve on Red vs. Blue Wi n ne r-Take-All Syste ms Leave O u t To o Ma ny Vote rs.

William Raspberry helped to elect a candidate to office, a fact that Richie believes might help to Four years after a dead-heat presiden- reduce voter apathy. Second, it makes tial election came near to producing it possible for a voter to support a dark- a constitutional crisis, it’s odd what horse candidate—say, a third-party stands out in my memory. Not the hopeful—without helping his least butterfly ballots and the hanging chads; favorite candidate in the process. Say those were mechanical failures, and John McCain is on the ballot and he quite fixable. Not ’s partisan is your first choice. Under the present secretary of state, its on-again off-again system, a vote for McCain would be recount efforts, nor even the U.S. a vote taken away from your second Supreme Court’s delivery of the state— favorite, Bush, and in effect a vote for and the election—to George W. Bush. John Kerry. Under a rank-order system, Those were human failings of the sort either your first choice wins or your that matter only in very close elections. vote goes to your second choice. What I remember most starkly is As a matter of fact, several repair But what really excites Richie about the fact that very nearly half of the efforts are underway. Maine and the system is that it tends to drive Floridians who bothered to register Nebraska do not follow the winner- candidates and campaigns toward and go to the polls (and who managed take-all rule. (If their system had coalition-building and civility. “The to survive the challenges of confusing been in place in Florida, supporters of present system leads candidates to ballots and human roadblocks) George Bush and Al Gore would have sharpen, even exaggerate, their differ- might as well have stayed at home. been arguing over which candidate ences with their challengers,” he says. Approximately 3 million Floridians should get 13 electoral votes and which “The result is a sort of polarization delivered all of their state’s 25 elec- one only 12.) Enacting some form of that marginalizes moderates of both toral votes to Bush. The same number proportionate allocation of electoral parties. But the candidate who thinks of voters less 537—the size of the votes makes sense to me. Interestingly, he may need your second-choice official margin—delivered nothing. it’s up to the individual states to vote to win will tend to reach out How could anyone imagine do it, though at the moment only to—or at least not antagonize—voters that to be fair? Colorado is considering the change. whose first choice is someone else.” Florida sticks in my mind, of course, One of the more interesting elec- The people simply aren’t as polar- because by the time it came to Florida, toral reforms is underway in San ized as the system paints them. it was known that that state held Francisco, where voters next month Florida wound up being a red state, the election in the balance. The flaw, will select their top choice for a seat though virtually half of its voters however, was not Florida’s but the on the city’s Board of Supervisors— were blue. The truth is, with a small winner-take-all electoral system used by but also have a chance to mark handful of exceptions, the states 48 of the 50 states in presidential elec - their second and third choices. are various shades of purple. tions. Millions of Democrats and If you think this doesn’t sound like Wouldn’t it be a good thing for our New York Republicans had their votes much, you ought to talk to Rob Richie, politics to acknowledge that fact? similarly disregarded. If you didn’t vote executive director of the Center for for the winner, your vote didn’t count. Voting and Democracy and my frequent William R aspberry , a Post co lum - And here we are headed toward guide on voting systems. Three things nist since 1 966, won t he Pulit zer what may be another close election. about the rank-voting system appeal Prize for Dist inguished Commentary Isn’t it time to fix the system? to Richie. First, it increases the likeli- in 1 994. H e may be reached at hood that any particular voter will have [email protected].

9 NovemberOct ober 18, 200423, 2004 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3

An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In Education Program Outlook: Repair the Electoral College Four Steps Would Help Balance Majority Rule With Minority Rights

Peter M. Shane tends to exaggerate the margin of gerrymandering from affecting victory, thus discouraging post-electoral presidential elections, and it would If Tuesday brings another mismatch challenges and diminishing uncertainty. avoid the increased likelihood of between the electoral and popular For all of these reasons, it may throwing elections to the House that votes, maybe we will finally get be attractive to replace our current would likely follow if electors were national agreement on a significant process with another system of indi- apportioned within states according proposition: Our current electoral rect election that simply changes the to the size of the popular vote. college system has got to go. makeup of the Electoral College. Finally, a new amendment should The most popular idea to replace I call my proposal “Drop Two.” provide that, in elections thrown it—a national direct election—has We should preserve the Electoral to Congress, each state delegation the obvious appeal of honoring our College, but lower by two the number would vote as a whole, as it does modern-day commitment to the prin- of electors allocated to every state. now, but that the vote of each state ciple of one person, one vote. We Currently, each state gets a would be weighted according to would no longer risk the distortion number of electors equivalent to the size of its House delegation. In of majority sentiment by a dispropor- the number of its members of the other words, we should not abandon tionate allocation of state electors. House, plus two for its senators. a fair weighting of the states just at But a national direct election would It is the latter allocation that most the point that the Electoral College also mean giving up a number of significantly causes the overweighting fails to produce an outcome. advantages that thoughtful commenta- of the small states’ votes. Giving each Had this system been in place tors attribute to the electoral college state a number of electors equiva- from 1960 to 2000, it would have system as it currently operates. lent to its House delegation would changed the outcome of only one Operating our presidential contest still overrepresent the less populated election—the election of George as 50 state elections (and one in the states, but not as dramatically. W. Bush over Al Gore. Instead of District of Columbia) means candidates The second step of a desirable losing 271 to 266, Gore would have have to be more attentive to minority constitutional amendment would won 224 to 211, which would have interests, including rural interests, be to require states to choose their accorded with the popular vote. than they would otherwise be. electors through statewide popular “Drop Two” thus preserves the The electoral college system limits the votes. This would finally give explicit institutional advantages of the burdens of recounting, and the impacts recognition to the proposition that Electoral College while offering a of voting irregularities, to single states. participating in presidential elec- sounder balance between the two The winner-take-all system every- tions, even if run by the states, is a fundamental and somewhat contradic- where but Maine and Nebraska, privilege of national citizenship. tory tenets of American democracy: which is based on state law and A third step would be to impose majority rule and minority rights. not on the Constitution, bolsters the winner-take-all “unit rule” as a the two-party system, which many national standard, thus protecting the Peter M. Shane teaches separa- think the basis for our long history two-party system and the incentive tion-of-powers law at Ohio State of relative political stability. that our current system embodies for University’s Moritz College of Law, Moreover, when it accords with the consensus-building and governing from where he directs the Center for popular vote, the Electoral College the middle. It would keep partisan Law, Policy and Social Science.

October 31, 2004 The Electoral College: History, Present and Future

When the Electoral College convenes in December to cast ballots for president and vice president, the electors will be fulfilling a constitutional duty. The 538 electors representing each state and the District of Columbia are expected to follow the popular vote in their jurisdictions so the outcome is not a surprise.

BACKGROUND THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE TODAY THE FUTURE OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE The Electoral College represents The Founding Fathers did not The value of the Electoral College one of the many compromises made foresee the advent of a two-party is subject to many views. A number by the Framers of the Constitution system. Originally the electors of critics would like to abolish the to ensure large states did not over- would seek to become electors and Electoral College, in fact, legislation rule smaller states. In this sense, the then vote for the candidate of their has been introduced in the U.S. Senate Electoral College is representative of choice. Now the parties choose to do so. Others would like to see the the system of federalism established in the electors, usually rewarding Electoral College change its method the Constitution. Also, the Electoral people who are loyal to the party. of vote allocation to be more fair and College was designed to mitigate Some commentators have likened representative of the popular will, as the effect of “popular passion.” The the Electoral College system to the well as the population size of each details of the World Series. Think of each state as state. Finally, some do not want the YOU AND Electoral College one game within the World Series. If Electoral College to change at all. YOUR RIGHTS are largely written one team scores 22 runs in a seven- in the United States game series but wins four games Constitution, although the method of and the other team scores 24 runs, choosing electors is left to the states. but only wins three games, the team The number of electors per state with the most games wins, not the matches the number of representatives team with the most runs. Based on each state has in the United States this analogy, some say the Electoral Congress. For example, Pennsylvania College is fair and sensible. Critics say has 21 electors because it has two U.S. elections should not be like the World Senators and 19 U.S. Representatives. Series, which is designed to heighten If no candidate wins the sufficient drama between two adversaries for number of Electoral College votes (as added excitement. Rather, an elec- happened in 1824), then the House of tion should allow for the most popular Representatives would choose the presi- and most qualified candidate to win. dent from the top three candidates, and Some people consider the Electoral each state would only have one vote. College to be pointless as its only Alternatively, a candidate could lose purpose is to convene six weeks after the popular vote but win the Electoral an election is decided to confirm the College vote, as in 1888. These situ- result of the election. This denies the ations are exceptional, but their influence of the Electoral College on occurrence raises questions among how a campaign is run. Candidates critics as to whether the Electoral know presidential elections are College is democratic or undated. won by electoral votes, not popular votes, which is why they and elec- tion-night viewers focus on some states more than other states.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Through the Marshall-Brennan program, Claire Rajan taught at Dunbar Senior High School last year and at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School currently. Following her second year of law school, Rajan worked in the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission. VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program The Deb a te About the Electoral College System

* The Electoral College is part of the greater system of * The Electoral College was founded in a completely checks and balances. different time when communications were slow, illiteracy * James Madison, a Framer, believed the public will is also high, and U.S. Senators were not even elected by popular encompassed by the “will of the States in their distinct and vote. independent capacities”; therefore, the Electoral College * Diluting the power of the popular vote is undemocratic system encompasses both the popular vote and the will of and not true to the system of representative democracy. the states in a federal system. * The possibility of the House of Representatives deciding * It is necessary to our federal system that the small and an election for the presidency is undemocratic. medium-sized states be given more leverage in a presidential * Awarding all of a state’s electoral votes to the winner, election as they have limited power in other areas. even if there is a close margin, disenfranchises voters because * The Electoral College system enhances representa- votes are taken from the losing candidate and given to the tive democracy by requiring candidates to seek support winning candidate. throughout the nation and look for voters beyond their * The Supreme Court’s decision holding “one person, one strongholds, which will result with a president who has vote” in legislative districting should apply to presidential broader support across the nation. elections. * One of the founding elements of our system of govern - * The current system does not give smaller states more ment is that the central government does not wield too much power because they are largely ignored in presidential candi- power over the states, which the Electoral College system dates’ campaign strategy. helps to maintain. * For the most part ignores third parties’ popular support * Prevents third parties from splintering our two-party and does not make third party success feasible. system. PR O S C ONS

12 November 23, 2004 VOLUME 4, IS SUE 3

An In tegra ted C urric ulum For The Washington Po s t Newsp aper In Educ a tion Program

A cademic Content S t andar ds

T his lesson addresses academ ic content standards o f Maryland, Virginia and t he District o f Co lumbia.

Maryland V ir ginia Washington, D.C.

Social Stud ies, Grade 5, Civics and Econom ics. A merican Gov ernment. Po lit ical Science. The student will demonstrate Students will demonstrate an Students will explain the impor- knowledge of the political process at understanding of the contents of tance of civic participation as a the local, state, and national levels of founding documents and history citizen of the United States: government by describing the role of of founding documents of the • Analyze the usefulness of the Electoral College in the election United States. The student various sources of information of the President and Vice President. • explains reasons for used to make political decisions; opposition to ratification of • Describe the ways people can Eng lish the U.S. Constitution, participate in the political process Reading, Grade 7: The student • examines the reasons for including voting, petitioning elected will read and demonstrate compre- adoption of the amendments to officials, and volunteering. hension of a variety of informa- the United States Constitution. tional texts. Describe how word Eng lish choice and language structure Mat hemat ics Students will read, comprehend, convey an author’s viewpoint. Data Analysis, Statistics and interpret, analyze and evaluate infor- Writing, Grade 7: The student Probability. The student collects, mational texts. Develop comprehen- will develop narrative, exposi- organizes, represents, evaluates sion skills by reading a variety of tory and persuasive writing. and interprets data; makes predic- self-selected and assigned informa- tions based on data; applies basic tional texts. Grade 3: newspapers; Mat hemat ics understandings of chance and Grade 8: editorials and commentary. Probability and Statistics. Grade probability; and solves real-life 7: The student will make infer- and career-related problems. Mat hemat ics ences and predictions based Knowledge of Statistics. Students on the analysis of a set of data Eng lish will collect, organize, display, that the student(s) collect. Language as Meaning Making. analyze or interpret data to Students comprehend and make decisions or predictions. compose a wide range of written, oral and visual texts in the process of making meaning.

A c omplete list o f S t a te Content S t andar ds A c omplete list o f S t andar ds o f L e arning o f A c omplete list o f S t andar ds for Te aching o f Maryland can be found a t http://www. Vir ginia can be found on the Web a t http:// and L e arning o f the District o f Columbia mdk12. or g/mspp /st andar ds/. www.pen.k12.va.us/. P ublic Schools can be found a t http:// www.k12.dc.us.

13 November 23, 2004