11.04.08
Understanding The Electoral College
From Reuters Election Center
What is it?
U.S. voters go to the polls on Nov. 4 to vote for a new president, but under the Constitution, the Electoral College actually elects the next president of the United States, not the popular vote.
Who are the electors?
There are 538 members of the Electoral College, allotted to each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their representation in the U.S. Congress. The smallest states have three members while the largest state, California, has 55. Washington, D.C., which has no representation in Congress, has three, the same as the smallest state.
It takes 270 votes to win election. The electors are pledged to one candidate or the other but there is no federal law requiring them to vote that way. There have been several incidents in which a “faithless elector” has voted for someone other than the major candidates.
How are electors assigned?
In 48 states and the District of Colombia, it’s winner take all: the candidate who wins the popular vote wins all of the state’s electors. Nebraska and Maine have a proportional system of awarding electors.
Electors, who are picked by the respective political parties, make two selections — for president and for vice president. They may not vote for two candidates from their own state.
Winning the popular vote, but losing the White House
Because a candidate could run up a big vote count in some states but lose others by narrow margins, the winner of the popular vote might not have the most electoral votes. The Electoral College has three times picked the candidate who lost the popular vote — Republicans Rutherford Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and George W. Bush in 2000.
Tiebreaker
If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses among the top three candidates with each state having only one vote.
The House has twice decided the outcome of the presidential race — in the 1800 and 1824 elections.
John McCain and Barack Obama could potentially end up in a tie by carrying a certain combination of states, though it is very unlikely. Here are some scenarios, using 2004 state results as a starting point:
- McCain wins New Hampshire but loses Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa.
- McCain loses Nevada, Iowa and New Mexico.
- McCain loses West Virginia, Iowa and New Mexico.
- McCain wins Michigan, but loses Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa.
- McCain wins New Hampshire but loses Iowa, Nevada and Colorado.
Why was it created?
This unique system was the result of a compromise by the writers of the U.S. Constitution in the 18th century between those who wanted direct popular election and those who wanted state legislatures to decide. One fear was that at a time before political parties, the popular vote would be diluted by voting for an unwieldy amount of candidates.
Despite periodic attempts at reform, the system has survived mostly intact for more than 200 years.
