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Electoral College

Electoral College. Reading Activity. 1 & 4. How does the Electoral College work ? November: popular vote—determines electoral vote for each state December: electors vote in state capitals January: electoral votes counted in Joint Session of Congress—Majority of electors=270

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Electoral College

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  1. Electoral College Reading Activity

  2. 1 & 4. How does the Electoral College work? • November: popular vote—determines electoral vote for each state • December: electors vote in state capitals • January: electoral votes counted in Joint Session of Congress—Majority of electors=270 • What is the formula for deciding how many electors each state has? • # of senators + # of Reps = # of electors • Example: NJ: 2 Senators + 12 Reps = 14 electors • Why do we have it? Why didn’t the writers of the Constitution trust the ordinary people to elect the President? • At time of Constitution: ordinary people barely read; information passed through newspapers, pamphlets, fliers very slowly • Framers felt populace would not be well informed or educated enough about the government to form opinions and vote

  3. 5. What is the tradition from the unwritten Constitution that determines which presidential candidate the electors vote for? • Electors do not have to vote according to popular vote in November. But the tradition is the winner of the popular vote takes all electro votes (winner take all system) 6. What is the minimum number of electoral votes a candidate has to gain in order to win presidency? • 100 (Senators) + 435 (House of Reps) + 3 (District of Columbia) =538 total electors 538 divided by 2 + 1: 270 to win (269 is half of 538; so must have at least one more than half to win: 270)

  4. 7. Pro/Con

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