Electoral College 101???

[Christine]

Can someone give me a brief explanation on exactly what the purpose is of the Electoral College? I am wondering if my vote *really* counts or does the Electoral College just vote the way they want to vote?

 

[jrydberg]

The basics... each state has a number of electors equal to the number of Senators plus the number of Congressmen (minimum of 3). DC also gets 3 electoral votes.

What you are essentially doing on election day is casting a ballot for a slate of electors (chosen by the political party) who are committed to electing one candidate or the other. Many states have laws in place to guarantee that the Republican/Democrat electors will, in fact, elect the Republican/Democrat candidate.

Let's say you're voting Libertarian. And by some freak set of circumstances, the Libertarians garner the most votes in your state (hey, it could happen!). That means all the electors from your state will be Libertarians who have already committed to electing John Q. Public, Libertarian candidate. Your vote helped to select the Libertarian electors... if that makes any sense?

 

[treesinger]

Main Entry: elec·tor·al college
Function: noun
often cap E&C : a body of electors; specifically : the body of electors chosen from each state to elect the president and vice president of the U.S.
NOTE: Under Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, each state chooses electors in the same number that the state has senators and representatives. The electors have the discretion to choose the candidate they vote for, but in practice the electors vote for the candidate that wins the most votes in their respective states. In all the states except Maine, the candidate that wins a plurality of the popular votes wins all of the state's electoral votes.


The point of the electoral college is to protect the Presidency from "local majorities". The way I see it, it keeps candidates from only visiting major cities and population hubs in order to get the most votes. The electoral college balances the power between the powerful cities and the more sparsely populated rural areas. Without the EC, no candidate would ever have to visit the entire midwest and Big Sky country. There are so few votes there, comparatively speaking, to make it worthwhile. The EC MAKES them worthwhile.

 

[GaryAdams]

heres a good link that explains alot about the EC.


http://jceb.co.jackson.mo.us/fun_stuff/electoral_college.htm


lots of good facts on how and why it is what it is today.

 

[treesinger]

Great link Gary, thanks!

I would REALLY like for those that say Bush was selected rather than elected to read this link and then explain why they disagree with it.

 

[Christine]

Thanks everyone. I've always been a little suspicious of the EC, but, I feel a little bit better now.