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The Electoral College is the official and definitive election body that selects the president of the United States. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The Electoral College was a part of the compromises between large and small states necessary for achieving majority support for the Constitution developed at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Among those favoring small-state interests was Maryland’s attorney general, Luther Martin. Martin was the author of the Electoral College proposal at the Philadelphia convention. His proposal drew on the experience, philosophy, and history of Maryland’s colonial constitution, which provided for an electoral college to select its upper house.

The Constitution directs that each state legislature determine the method of selecting that state’s electors for the Electoral College. At various times state legislatures have determined that the state legislature, its districts, or the state as a whole would elect that state’s electors. Presently, electors in all states are popularly elected on a statewide, winner-take-all ticket except in Nebraska and Maine, where electors are elected by special districts.

Each state’s allotment of electors is equal to its number of House members plus two senators. The exception is District of Columbia, which has no voting members in Congress, but the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution gave the citizens of the District of Columbia at least three electoral votes. The Electoral College currently consists of 538 electors (one for each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 senators, and 3 for the District of Columbia). The decennial census is used to reapportion the number of electors allocated among the states, based upon reapportionment of the House of Representatives.

State laws vary on the appointment of electors and the selection process, the regulation of method and place of voting, and the official certification and transmission of results. The slates of electors in each state are generally chosen by the political parties. The electors in all states and the District of Columbia are elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The states then prepare a list of the slate of electors for the candidate who receives the most popular votes on a Certificate of Ascertainment. The electors meet in each state on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to cast their votes for president and vice president. No national constitutional provision or federal law requires electors to vote in accordance with the popular vote in their state, though some states have taken measures to direct electors to vote in accordance with the popular vote in their states. The electors prepare six original Certificates of Vote and annex a Certificate of Ascertainment to each one. Each Certificate of Vote lists all persons voted for as president and the number of electors voting for each person, and separately lists all persons voted for as vice president and the number of electors voting for each person.

The governor of each state prepares seven original Certificates of Ascertainment. The states send one original, along with two authenticated copies or two additional originals, to the archivist of the United States at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) by registered mail, which must be received by the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. The archivist transmits the originals to NARA’s Office of the Federal Register (OFR), and OFR forwards one copy to each House of Congress and retains the original.

The votes are officially counted by Congress early in January. The candidate who wins a majority of the votes cast in the Electoral College is elected. Presently, a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president. If no presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution provides for the presidential election to be decided by the House of Representatives. The House would select the president by majority vote, choosing from the three candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken by state, with each state delegation having one vote. If no vice presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the Senate would select the vice president by majority vote, with each senator choosing from the two candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. In both chambers the states are the primary constituency represented, as reflected by voting by state in the House and the assumed state suffrage inherently reflected in state representation in the Senate.

Despite periodic calls for reform, the safeguards of federalism designed by the Founding Fathers that are the foundation of the Electoral College remain intact. The Electoral College provides an intrinsic embodiment of federalism by combining the House (population) and Senate (states) representation methods in determination of the allocation of electors. The design of the Electoral College not only provides incentive for broad, inclusive campaigning across the breadth of the nation, but also minimizes the potential impact of any electoral irregularities by decentralizing the proportion of votes by state. The Electoral College remains one of the most significant and enduring constitutional contributions to the balance of federalism.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''BIBLIOGRAPHY:'''
George Anastaplo, ''The Amendments to the Constitution'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995); Allan Bloom, ed., ''Confronting the Constitution'' (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1990); M. E. Bradford, ''Founding Fathers'', 2nd ed. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1994); and Martin Diamond, ''The Founding of the Democratic Republic'' (Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock, 1981).
|}

==== Michael W. Hail and Duane D. Milne ====

SEE ALSO: [[Constitutional Convention of 1787]]; [[Political Parties]]; [[Presidency]]; [[Reapportionment]]; [[State Legislatures]]

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The Constitution gives states quite a bit of discretion in how they allocate these electors, although they obviously may not violate some other constitutional provision in the process. (A state could not, for instance, refuse to let women vote when men are allowed to do so.) Within these parameters, however, states are the driving force behind presidential elections: The states, not the federal government, decide how their own priorities will be represented in the selection of electors and in the presidential election system.
-States have used their discretion in various ways throughout history. During the first several presidential elections, many state legislatures appointed electors, directly, without reference to a popular vote within the state. Other legislatures chose electors from a short list created by voters. Still others created special districts for the selection of electors. Some states have bucked the national parties and put their own candidates on ballots. State legislatures retain this authority to do what is best for their states; however, in modern times, all state legislatures have chosen to blend democracy and federalism into a two-part election cycle.
+States have used their discretion in various ways throughout history. During the first several presidential elections, many [[State Legislatures|state legislatures]] appointed electors, directly, without reference to a popular vote within the state. Other legislatures chose electors from a short list created by voters. Still others created special districts for the selection of electors. Some states have bucked the national parties and put their own candidates on ballots. State legislatures retain this authority to do what is best for their states; however, in modern times, all state legislatures have chosen to blend democracy and federalism into a two-part election cycle.
 Part One of the election occurs on Election Day in November. On this day, 51 purely democratic elections are held all across the country: one election in each state, plus one in the District of Columbia. The purpose of these elections is to identify which presidential electors will represent each state. These elections are “one person, one vote” elections for a statewide office (elector), just like a gubernatorial election.

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-The American process for electing presidents is, at its heart, a federalist one. There is no centralized national popular vote for United States president. Instead, elections are conducted in a [[Noncentralization|non-centralized]] fashion, on a state-by-state basis. This unique presidential election process is colloquially referred to as the “[[Electoral College]],” although that phrase does not appear in the [[U.S. Constitution|United States Constitution]].
+The American process for electing presidents is, at its heart, a federalist one. There is no centralized national popular vote for United States president. Instead, elections are conducted in a [[Noncentralization|non-centralized]] fashion, on a state-by-state basis. This unique presidential election process is colloquially referred to as the “Electoral College,” although that phrase does not appear in the [[U.S. Constitution|United States Constitution]].
 The delegates to the [[Constitutional Convention of 1787|Constitutional Convention]] knew that they would need a special presidential election process if every American were to be represented fairly. The nation was simply too large and diverse for anything else. Indeed, the topic of presidential election consumed much of the delegates’ attention as they hammered out a new form of government during that long, hot summer in Philadelphia. Two main ideas were on the table: a national popular vote versus legislative selection.
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 When these 51 purely democratic statewide elections are complete, 538 presidential electors will have been chosen.  These electors will go on to represent their states in Part Two of the election—a federalist election among the states, as represented by their electors. This election is held in December. It typically gets much less media attention than the voting on Election Day, but it is this December vote—not the November vote—that determines who is the next president. The [[U.S. Constitution|Constitution]] provides that the candidate who gets a majority of presidential electors (currently 270) will also win the White House. If no candidate obtains a majority, then a back-up election procedure in the House of Representatives will choose the president. In the House election, each state delegation gets one vote.
-The unique blend of democracy and federalism in America’s presidential election has earned the criticism of some. [[Electoral College]] opponents strive for a system of simple, popular democracy that would combine votes for a candidate across state boundaries. They claim such a change is needed to prevent “wasted votes” when a ballot is cast in the “wrong” state. As this argument goes, a citizen’s vote should not be “wasted” simply because he is voting Democratic in a red state or Republican in a blue one. Electoral College proponents note the state-by-state nature of the presidential election system and respond that these votes were not “wasted.” They were votes cast on the losing side of a statewide election. Every election has winners and losers, and a statewide election for presidential electors is no exception.
+The unique blend of democracy and federalism in America’s presidential election has earned the criticism of some. Electoral College opponents strive for a system of simple, popular democracy that would combine votes for a candidate across state boundaries. They claim such a change is needed to prevent “wasted votes” when a ballot is cast in the “wrong” state. As this argument goes, a citizen’s vote should not be “wasted” simply because he is voting Democratic in a red state or Republican in a blue one. Electoral College proponents note the state-by-state nature of the presidential election system and respond that these votes were not “wasted.” They were votes cast on the losing side of a statewide election. Every election has winners and losers, and a statewide election for presidential electors is no exception.
 Electoral College opponents also argue that swing states get too much attention, but they don’t address the counterargument: the identity of safe and swing states is constantly changing.   Historically speaking, candidates cannot take safe states for granted without feeling the ramifications at the polls.
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 |-
 | '''BIBLIOGRAPHY:'''
-Best, Judith A. 1996. The Choice of the People? Debating the Electoral College. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield; Edwards, George C., III. 2019. Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America, 3rd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; Hardaway, Robert M. 1994. The Electoral College and the Constitution: The Case for Preserving Federalism. Westport, CT: Praeger; Koza, John R., et al. 2013. Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote. 4th ed. Los Altos, CA: National Popular Vote Press; Best, Judith A. 1996. The Choice of the People? Debating the Electoral College. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield; Edwards, George C., III. 2019. Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America, 3rd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; Hardaway, Robert M. 1994. The Electoral College and the Constitution: The Case for Preserving Federalism. Westport, CT: Praeger; Koza, John R., et al. 2013. Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote. 4th ed. Los Altos, CA: National Popular Vote Press; Longley, Lawrence D. and Neal R. Peirce. 1999. The Electoral College Primer 2000. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; Ross, Tara. 2019. Why We Need the Electoral College. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway; U.S. Congress, Senate, Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings on S.J. Res. 28: Direct popular election of the President and Vice President of the United States. 96th Cong. (1979).
+Best, Judith A. 1996. "The Choice of the People? Debating the Electoral College". Lanham, MD: ''Rowman & Littlefield''; Edwards, George C., III. 2019. "Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America," 3rd ed. New Haven, CT: ''Yale University Press''; Hardaway, Robert M. 1994. "The Electoral College and the Constitution: The Case for Preserving Federalism". Westport, CT: ''Praeger''; Koza, John R., et al. 2013. "Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote". 4th ed. Los Altos, CA: ''National Popular Vote Press''; Best, Judith A. 1996. "The Choice of the People? Debating the Electoral College". Lanham, MD: ''Rowman & Littlefield''; Edwards, George C., III. 2019. "Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America," 3rd ed. New Haven, CT: ''Yale University Press''; Hardaway, Robert M. 1994. "The Electoral College and the Constitution: The Case for Preserving Federalism". Westport, CT: ''Praeger''; Koza, John R., et al. 2013. "Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote". 4th ed. Los Altos, CA: ''National Popular Vote Press''; Longley, Lawrence D. and Neal R. Peirce. 1999. "The Electoral College Primer 2000". New Haven, CT: ''Yale University Press''; Ross, Tara. 2019. "Why We Need the Electoral College". Washington, DC: ''Regnery Gateway''; U.S. Congress, Senate, "Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary". Hearings on S.J. Res. 28: ''Direct popular election of the President and Vice President of the United States''. 96th Cong. (1979).
 |}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The American process for electing presidents is, at its heart, a federalist one. There is no centralized national popular vote for United States president. Instead, elections are conducted in a non-centralized fashion, on a state-by-state basis. This unique presidential election process is colloquially referred to as the “Electoral College,” although that phrase does not appear in the United States Constitution.
+The American process for electing presidents is, at its heart, a federalist one. There is no centralized national popular vote for United States president. Instead, elections are conducted in a [[Noncentralization|non-centralized]] fashion, on a state-by-state basis. This unique presidential election process is colloquially referred to as the “[[Electoral College]],” although that phrase does not appear in the [[U.S. Constitution|United States Constitution]].
-The delegates to the Constitutional Convention knew that they would need a special presidential election process if every American were to be represented fairly. The nation was simply too large and diverse for anything else. Indeed, the topic of presidential election consumed much of the delegates’ attention as they hammered out a new form of government during that long, hot summer in Philadelphia. Two main ideas were on the table: a national popular vote versus legislative selection.
+The delegates to the [[Constitutional Convention of 1787|Constitutional Convention]] knew that they would need a special presidential election process if every American were to be represented fairly. The nation was simply too large and diverse for anything else. Indeed, the topic of presidential election consumed much of the delegates’ attention as they hammered out a new form of government during that long, hot summer in Philadelphia. Two main ideas were on the table: a national popular vote versus legislative selection.
 The former idea was opposed by small-state delegates. “[People] will generally vote for some man in their own State,” Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman argued, “and the largest State will have the best chance for the appointment.” Other small-state delegates voiced similar concerns.
-On the other hand, legislative selection of the president could not gain traction, either. The delegates worried about the prospect of Congress choosing the president. They believed strongly that power should be separated among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Would the president be truly independent if he were reliant on members of the House of Representatives and the Senate for his election and re-election?
+On the other hand, legislative selection of the president could not gain traction, either. The delegates worried about the prospect of [[U.S. Congress|Congress]] choosing the president. They believed strongly that power should be separated among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Would the president be truly independent if he were reliant on members of the House of Representatives and the Senate for his election and re-election?
 In the end, the Electoral College emerged as a compromise between the large and small states, and it reflected the compromises that had already been made in the composition of the national legislature: In the Electoral College, each state is represented by the same number of electors as it has members of Congress, both in the House (with representatives apportioned by population) and the Senate (with equal representation for each state).
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 At this time, most states have chosen to award all their electors to the winner of the statewide vote. Thus, when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in California in 2016, all 55 of California’s electors were Democratic electors who supported Clinton. Most states abide by this winner-take-all process, but Maine and Nebraska are two exceptions: They allocate their electors by congressional district. The two remaining electors (representing each state’s two United States senators) are awarded to the winner of the statewide vote.
-When these 51 purely democratic statewide elections are complete, 538 presidential electors will have been chosen.  These electors will go on to represent their states in Part Two of the election—a federalist election among the states, as represented by their electors. This election is held in December. It typically gets much less media attention than the voting on Election Day, but it is this December vote—not the November vote—that determines who is the next president. The Constitution provides that the candidate who gets a majority of presidential electors (currently 270) will also win the White House. If no candidate obtains a majority, then a back-up election procedure in the House of Representatives will choose the president. In the House election, each state delegation gets one vote.
+When these 51 purely democratic statewide elections are complete, 538 presidential electors will have been chosen.  These electors will go on to represent their states in Part Two of the election—a federalist election among the states, as represented by their electors. This election is held in December. It typically gets much less media attention than the voting on Election Day, but it is this December vote—not the November vote—that determines who is the next president. The [[U.S. Constitution|Constitution]] provides that the candidate who gets a majority of presidential electors (currently 270) will also win the White House. If no candidate obtains a majority, then a back-up election procedure in the House of Representatives will choose the president. In the House election, each state delegation gets one vote.
-The unique blend of democracy and federalism in America’s presidential election has earned the criticism of some. Electoral College opponents strive for a system of simple, popular democracy that would combine votes for a candidate across state boundaries. They claim such a change is needed to prevent “wasted votes” when a ballot is cast in the “wrong” state. As this argument goes, a citizen’s vote should not be “wasted” simply because he is voting Democratic in a red state or Republican in a blue one. Electoral College proponents note the state-by-state nature of the presidential election system and respond that these votes were not “wasted.” They were votes cast on the losing side of a statewide election. Every election has winners and losers, and a statewide election for presidential electors is no exception.
+The unique blend of democracy and federalism in America’s presidential election has earned the criticism of some. [[Electoral College]] opponents strive for a system of simple, popular democracy that would combine votes for a candidate across state boundaries. They claim such a change is needed to prevent “wasted votes” when a ballot is cast in the “wrong” state. As this argument goes, a citizen’s vote should not be “wasted” simply because he is voting Democratic in a red state or Republican in a blue one. Electoral College proponents note the state-by-state nature of the presidential election system and respond that these votes were not “wasted.” They were votes cast on the losing side of a statewide election. Every election has winners and losers, and a statewide election for presidential electors is no exception.
 Electoral College opponents also argue that swing states get too much attention, but they don’t address the counterargument: the identity of safe and swing states is constantly changing.   Historically speaking, candidates cannot take safe states for granted without feeling the ramifications at the polls.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:15, 27 August 2018
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−	The Electoral College is the official and definitive election body that selects the president of the United States. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The Electoral College was a part of the compromises between large and small states necessary for achieving majority support for the Constitution developed at the [[Constitutional Convention of 1787\|Constitutional Convention]] in Philadelphia. Among those favoring small-state interests was Maryland’s attorney general, Luther Martin. Martin was the author of the Electoral College proposal at the Philadelphia convention. His proposal drew on the experience, philosophy, and history of Maryland’s colonial constitution, which provided for an electoral college to select its upper house.	+	The Electoral College is the official and definitive election body that selects the president of the United States. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers as a compromise between [[Elections\|election]] of the president by [[U.S. Congress\|Congress]] and election by popular vote. The Electoral College was a part of the compromises between large and small states necessary for achieving majority support for the [[U.S. Constitution\|Constitution]] developed at the [[Constitutional Convention of 1787\|Constitutional Convention]] in Philadelphia. Among those favoring small-state interests was Maryland’s attorney general, Luther Martin. Martin was the author of the Electoral College proposal at the Philadelphia convention. His proposal drew on the experience, philosophy, and history of Maryland’s colonial constitution, which provided for an electoral college to select its upper house.

	The Constitution directs that each state legislature determine the method of selecting that state’s electors for the Electoral College. At various times state legislatures have determined that the state legislature, its districts, or the state as a whole would elect that state’s electors. Presently, electors in all states are popularly elected on a statewide, winner-take-all ticket except in Nebraska and Maine, where electors are elected by special districts.		The Constitution directs that each state legislature determine the method of selecting that state’s electors for the Electoral College. At various times state legislatures have determined that the state legislature, its districts, or the state as a whole would elect that state’s electors. Presently, electors in all states are popularly elected on a statewide, winner-take-all ticket except in Nebraska and Maine, where electors are elected by special districts.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:39, 27 September 2017
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	SEE ALSO: [[Constitutional Convention of 1787]]; [[Political Parties]]; [[Presidency]]; [[Reapportionment]]; [[State Legislatures]]		SEE ALSO: [[Constitutional Convention of 1787]]; [[Political Parties]]; [[Presidency]]; [[Reapportionment]]; [[State Legislatures]]
		+
		+	[[Category:Constitutional Provisions]]

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-The Electoral College is the official and definitive election body that selects the president of the United States. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The Electoral College was a part of the compromises between large and small states necessary for achieving majority support for the Constitution developed at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Among those favoring small-state interests was Maryland’s attorney general, Luther Martin. Martin was the author of the Electoral College proposal at the Philadelphia convention. His proposal drew on the experience, philosophy, and history of Maryland’s colonial constitution, which provided for an electoral college to select its upper house.
+The Electoral College is the official and definitive election body that selects the president of the United States. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The Electoral College was a part of the compromises between large and small states necessary for achieving majority support for the Constitution developed at the [[Constitutional Convention of 1787|Constitutional Convention]] in Philadelphia. Among those favoring small-state interests was Maryland’s attorney general, Luther Martin. Martin was the author of the Electoral College proposal at the Philadelphia convention. His proposal drew on the experience, philosophy, and history of Maryland’s colonial constitution, which provided for an electoral college to select its upper house.
 The Constitution directs that each state legislature determine the method of selecting that state’s electors for the Electoral College. At various times state legislatures have determined that the state legislature, its districts, or the state as a whole would elect that state’s electors. Presently, electors in all states are popularly elected on a statewide, winner-take-all ticket except in Nebraska and Maine, where electors are elected by special districts.
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 The votes are officially counted by Congress early in January. The candidate who wins a majority of the votes cast in the Electoral College is elected. Presently, a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president. If no presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution provides for the presidential election to be decided by the House of Representatives. The House would select the president by majority vote, choosing from the three candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken by state, with each state delegation having one vote. If no vice presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the Senate would select the vice president by majority vote, with each senator choosing from the two candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. In both chambers the states are the primary constituency represented, as reflected by voting by state in the House and the assumed state suffrage inherently reflected in state representation in the Senate.
-Despite periodic calls for reform, the safeguards of federalism designed by the Founding Fathers that are the foundation of the Electoral College remain intact. The Electoral College provides an intrinsic embodiment of federalism by combining the House (population) and Senate (states) representation methods in determination of the allocation of electors. The design of the Electoral College not only provides incentive for broad, inclusive campaigning across the breadth of the nation, but also minimizes the potential impact of any electoral irregularities by decentralizing the proportion of votes by state. The Electoral College remains one of the most significant and enduring constitutional contributions to the balance of federalism.
+Despite periodic calls for reform, the safeguards of federalism designed by the Founding Fathers that are the foundation of the Electoral College remain intact. The Electoral College provides an intrinsic embodiment of federalism by combining the House (population) and Senate (states) representation methods in determination of the allocation of electors. The design of the Electoral College not only provides incentive for broad, inclusive campaigning across the breadth of the nation, but also minimizes the potential impact of any electoral irregularities by decentralizing the proportion of votes by state. The Electoral College remains one of the most significant and enduring constitutional contributions to the balance of [[federalism]].
 {| class="wikitable"

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 ==== Michael W. Hail and Duane D. Milne ====
 SEE ALSO: [[Constitutional Convention of 1787]]; [[Political Parties]]; [[Presidency]]; [[Reapportionment]]; [[State Legislatures]]
 [[Category:Constitutional Provisions]]