Classroom Reading Handout

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice

President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

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: but no Senator or Representative,

or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be

appointed an Elector.

 Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution

[The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two

Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with

themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the

Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit

sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President

of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and

House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be

counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if

such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if

there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of

Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by Ballot one of

them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on

the List the said House shall in like Manner choose the President. But in choosing

the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each

State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or

Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be

necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person

having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President.

But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall

choose from them by Ballot the Vice President.]*

The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the

person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered

by committing the right of making it, not to any pre-established body, but to men

chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture.

It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most

capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under

circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the

reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small

number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be

most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such

complicated investigations.

 

Amendment 12 - Choosing the President, Vice-President. Ratified 6/15/1804.

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President

and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same

state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as

President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they

shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons

voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they

shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the

United States, directed to the President of the Senate; 

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the

President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors

appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the

highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the

House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in

choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from

each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or

members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be

necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a

President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth

day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in

the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the

Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors

appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on

the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall

consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole

number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to

the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United

States.

  

Further Thought Activity

Name:___________________ Date:______________ Class Period:____________

Directions: Visit the Congressional Congress website, then answer the following questions

A. Congressional Chronicle website, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/congress, and click on the

Members tab.

B. Determine the number of electors in your state.

C. Once the map has populated, you can click on your state, and your members of Congress

will populate.

D. determine the total number of electors who will be representing their state in the next

election by adding together the number of members in the House of Representatives and

the Senate.

1) How many electors are in Virginia? How many are in the House? How many are in the Senate?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) Name 2 electors from each._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Key Terms

Name:_______________________ Date:___________________ Class Period_________

Directions: As we examine the Electoral College, its history, and significance, listen out for the following terms. Record the definitions Feel free to use a separate piece of paper if needed.

Electoral College

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

National Popular Vote

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

District Method

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Proportional Method

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Federalism

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Faithless Elector

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2012 Electoral College Map Activity Questions

Homework/Assessment

Name:_______________ Date:___________ Class Per.___________

Directions: Use the map to answer the following questions. When necessary, use outside resources to give complete answers. Record your answers on a separate sheet of paper. To better view “A History of Modern Electoral College Results,: visit: http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/images/2012_Electoral_College_Map_Poster_Large.JPG

1. What is the minimum number of states that a candidate needs to win in order to win the election?

2. Given recent years’ results and current voting trends; create a scenario in which the Electoral College vote results in a tie. How would the U.S. select a president in this scenario?

3. What states gained electoral votes since the last election? What states lost electoral votes since the last election?

What are possible reasons for these results?

4. Using the result maps since 1992, which states have voted both Democratic and Republican in separate elections? What can be concluded about these states and their role in the election compared to other states that have voted for only one party over these elections?

5. Which two states use the district method? How does this differ from the winner-take-all method? What are the pros and cons to this method?

6. In which election did a candidate win the popular vote, yet lost the Electoral College vote and therefore the election? How is this possible?

7. Since 1900, how many Republicans have been elected president? How many Democratic candidates have been elected president? Were there any trends or “streaks” for one party?

What reasons might explain these trends?

8. What is the location for the Democratic National Convention? Republican National Convention?

Why did each party select these locations for their conventions?

Pros Cons Alternatives

How Is the Leader Chosen?

Fact Sheet

___________________________________________

The following information describes the executive branches of the governments of several selected countries:

Mexico

• Chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006); note: the president is both the chief of state and head of government.

• Head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006)

• Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note: appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate.

• Elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012)

• Election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote: Felipe CALDERON 35.89%, Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO 22.26%, other 6.54%

People’s Republic of China

• Chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); Vice President XI Jinping (since 15 March 2008)

• Head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Executive Vice Premier LI Keqiang (17 March 2008), Vice Premier HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003), Vice Premier ZHANG Dejiang (since 17 March 2008), and Vice Premier WANG Qishan (since 17 March 2008)

• Cabinet: State Council appointed by National People‘s Congress

• Elections: president and vice president elected by National People‘s Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 15-17 March 2008 (next to be held in mid-March 2013); premier nominated by president, confirmed by National People‘s Congress

• Election results: HU Jintao elected president by National People‘s Congress with a total of 2,963 votes; XI Jinping elected vice president with a total of 2,919 votes

United Kingdom

• Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948)

• Head of government: Prime Minister David CAMERON (since 11 May 2010)

• Elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister.

United States

• Chief of state: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009); note: the president is both the chief of state and head of government.

• Head of government: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)

• Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 4 November 2008 (next to be held on 6 November 2012)

• Election results: Barack H. OBAMA elected president; percent of popular vote: Barack H. OBAMA 52.4%, John MCCAIN 46.3%, other 1.3%.

Cuba

• Chief of state: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008); note: the president is both the chief of state and head of government.

• Head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of

the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008)

• Elections: president and vice presidents elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 24 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013)

• Election results: Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote: 100%; Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura elected vice president; percent of legislative vote: 100%

from The World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/profileguide.html

Extra Feature Story

Electoral College Turns Presidential Election into State-to-State Combat

October 14, 2008

While voters might think they're voting for Barack Obama or John McCain on Election Day, they're not. They're voting for a member of the Electoral College — a uniquely American institution responsible for George W. Bush's win in 2000 despite his losing the popular vote to Al Gore, and the reason the campaigns have spent over $25 million on ads in Ohio and nothing in Utah.

Created in 1787 to balance power between small and large states, the Electoral College has had a profound effect on presidential elections, leading candidates to focus on so-called battleground states instead of winning over the most total voters.

When voters cast their ballots, they're actually selecting electors set up by each state who are pledged to one of the candidates selected in primaries or other contests.

In total, there are 538 Electoral College members: states are allotted a vote for each of their two senators, each House representative (depends on population), plus three votes for the District of Columbia. The electors never gather together – instead meeting in their respective state capitals on the "first Monday after the second Wednesday in December" to symbolically carry out the vote.

The most important number on Election Day is 270 -- the number of electoral votes needed to gain a majority and become president.

The popular vote is not important on the national level, but it is at the state level. In nearly every state, the candidate who gets the most votes wins all of that state’s electors. (Maine and Nebraska use a tiered system and sometimes split their votes.)

Swing States, Battleground States

Each campaign divides the electoral map into states firmly Republican (“red”), firmly Democrat (“blue”), and swing states. These swings states can be further divided into “leaning” or “battleground” states, which are just too close to call.

This year, some of the hottest battleground states are Nevada, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. This list of states is updated day to day as states can easily shift from leaning to battleground and back again.

Both major party campaigns spend almost all of their time and money on battleground states.

Historical Reasoning

The idea of the Electoral College was formed during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The delegates to the convention worried how to balance the power between the smaller states and larger states and between the state governments and the federal government. (Although we often forget it, the United States is still a union of states who all want to be adequately represented.)

Early on, each member of the Electoral College would cast two votes for president. The runner-up would win the vice presidency. In the case of a tie, the vote was sent to the Congress.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/ 1http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/ 2

Things quickly got complicated in the election of 1796 when the president and vice president came from separate parties and platforms, and in 1800 when it was tie but both candidates were hated by their parties.

The 12th Amendment -- passed in 1804 -- added that the Electoral College must vote for one president and one vice president.

Critics

Critics of the system still argue that the system can privilege the voters of swing states as candidates will campaign harder for their votes.

The system is weighted to benefit smaller states. For example, Wyoming, the least-populated state, gets 3 votes, giving it one Electoral College vote per 172,000 people, while California, the largest state, has 55 votes, making it one vote per 655,000 people.

Other critics say that they system is inherently undemocratic as it is possible for a candidate to win the popular vote and still lose the election as happened in 1876, 1888, and 2000.

While many proposed constitutional amendments have been written to adopt a direct popular vote instead of the indirect Electoral College system, none have successfully made it through both houses of Congress.

-- Compiled by Lizzy Berryman for NewsHour