THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE: The American Presidential Selection System

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THE ELECTORAL COLLEGEThe American Presidential
Selection System

• I. How it Operates
• A. Main Constitutional provision Article II,
  Section 1, Clause 2 Each State shall appoint,
  in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may
  direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole
  Number of Senators and Representatives to which
  the State may be entitled in the Congress
• B. Once the states appoint a slate of Electors,
  the Electors cast their ballots for President.
  This is done every 4 years, according to a
  timetable set by Congress.
• C. The candidate with a majority of Electoral
  votes cast shall be President. If there is no
  candidate with a majority, the House of
  Representatives shall choose the President from
  among the three top vote-getters.

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THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

• II. Why the System is in Place
• A. The need for popular input. As every state is
  a democracy, the manner of choosing the electors
  is a matter of state-level democratic politics.
  This means that the citizens of each state are
  permitted a voice on Presidential candidates, if
  not directly at the ballot box then at lease
  indirectly through their state legislatures.
• B. The need to temper popularity with wisdom.
  The Electors are, by Constitutional design, free
  to vote for whomever they wish (i.e., they are
  not necessarily bound to the most popular
  candidates in their respective states). This
  allows the Electors, as a most respected and
  independent body, the opportunity to select the
  person they believe is most qualified for the
  position. (NOTE In modern times the state
  legislatures, and hence in turn the office of
  Elector, are under the control of the political
  parties, so the independence of the Electors has
  been practically eliminated).

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• II. Why the System is in Place (cont.)
• C. The compound ratio formula for allocating
  Electoral votes to each state (one vote for each
  member of the states congressional delegation)
  helps to assure the selection of a candidate that
  will have dual ties of loyalty. These ties of
  loyalty are to BOTH
• 1) the people as a mass (House portion of the
  formula) and
• 2) and the states as distinct and unique
  political units (Senate portion of the formula).
• D. It is in this way that the Electoral College
  system is in line with the whole logic and theory
  of American Constitutional design, particularly
  as this logic and theory similarly structures the
  legislative branch. No candidate can win the
  Presidency without a critical mass of popularity
  similarly, no candidate can win without appealing
  to a critical mass of the diverse regions of the
  country.