Wilson Demo

Elections in U.S.

Governing Elections

STATE CONTROL

• Set time/locations, most

dates

• Choose format of acceptable

ballots & how to file for
candidacy

• Rules & procedures for

registration

• Draws congressional district

lines

• Certifies election results

FEDERAL CONTROL

• Sets date for federal, general

elections (President, Congress)

• Judicial jurisdiction on election

policy

• Constitutional suffrage

amendments

• Enforces civil rights legislation
• Administers & enforces

campaign finance laws

Types of Elections

Primary v. General

Presidential v. Midterm

Poll

How many of you like discussing politics?

• 100% Bring it on

• Meh...it's ok

• Only when I have to

• I would rather have a root canal

The Electoral College

Why was it Created?

• View of people:

• Framers did not trust the

people to decide directly.
The common man is too
easily fooled and not as well
educated as framers of the
U.S. Constitution.

• Federalism:

• Framers did not want

Congress to choose.

• Anti-Federalists were still

afraid of the national
government having too
much power – wanted
states to pick the president.

United States Constitution

• The United States Constitution outlines

how the President is to be elected.

Article II: Explains Electoral College

•
12th Amendment- changed way EC
voted- 2 separate votes for President &
VP

•

538electors

• House (435) + Senate (100)
• + 3 for DC (23rd Amendment)

• Equals the total number of Electoral
votes for each state

How many votes in Electoral College does

each state get?

Total number in Congress

House
(every state has at least 1)
+
Senate
(every state has 2)

2024 Presidential Election (OHIO)

2020 Census Data

15 House Districts
+
2 Senators =

17 total Electoral
College votes

Electoral College Process

On the first Tuesday,
following the first
Monday in November
the General Election
takes place…
However, people are
actually voting for
“electors”

• On election day, when voters vote

for the president, they are
actually voting for the “electors”
representing one of the
candidates

• The candidate who receives the

most votes in a state gets all of
its electoral votes – “winner
takes all”

• A candidate needs 270 electoral

votes to win.

Winner Take All

The only states that do
not use the Winner
Takes All method are:

- Nebraska (NE)
- Maine (ME)

• Electors chosen by

State Legislatures and
these electors vote in
December

• Votes are counted &

certified in a joint
session of Congress in
January

• The President is

inaugurated on
January 20th
(20th Amendment)

Arguments Against the

Electoral College

# 1 - Person who doesn’t win popular

vote can be elected President

– 5 Elections
1824 (John Quincy Adams v. Andrew Jackson)
1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes v. Samuel Tilden)
1888 (Benjamin Harrison v. Grover Cleveland)
2000 (Gore v. Bush)
2016 (Clinton v. Trump )

#2- Winner Take All Over

-Exaggerates Win

#2- Winner Take All Over

-Exaggerates Win

#3: Electors Do Not Have to Do What We

Tell Them To

• Faithless Electors- electors who cast vote for someone

other than who they were supposed to vote for based
off popular vote

#4 Just Pay Attention to Enough to Win

Bellwether states: states that tend
to vote how the actual election turns
out.

Examples: Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana,
Wisconsin, New York
● Ohio was 93% accurate from 1900-2012

Swing States: States that do
not tend to vote the same every
election.

#5 Lowers Voter Turnout

If your state
is always
red and
you are
blue- why
vote?

You feel
your vote
doesn’t
matter

#6 Small States are Overrepresented

55

705,454

84%

3

194,717

304%

Arguments in Favor of Keeping it

#1: Tradition!

It’s what the Founding Fathers wanted

#2: Need Constitutional Amendment

#3 Federalism- State Power

All states
matter-
even
small
states!

#4: Need Broad Support

Counter Response?

Counter Response?

In the 2020
election, the
population in the
yellow circles
were enough to
outvote the
ENTIRE country if
they ALL voted
the same way.

If they did that, how do you think the rest of the country would feel?
Would they even bother to vote?

#4: Need Broad Support

Alternatives

• National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
• Proportional Allocation of Votes
• Congressional District Plan
• National Bonus Plan
• Direct Election with Instant Runoff (Ranked Voting)
• Direct Vote with Plurality