Pros and Cons: The Debate About the Electoral College
CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE Every four years people throughout the United States vote in the presidential election This process is known as the popular vote But technically people are not voting for the president Instead their votes determine which electors will represent their state There are 538 electors in all Each state has a certain number of electors To become president a candidate must receive 270 electoral votes Voters fill out ballots during the 2016 presidential election
In most cases the candidate who wins a state's popular vote earns all of that state's electoral votes However Maine and Nebraska are different In these states two electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the state's popular vote The other electoral votes go to the person who won the popular vote in each congressional district Electors take part in a second vote This happens one month after the presidential election Votes from each state's electors are UPDATING NUMBERS Throughout history the US population has grown The number of states has increased as well As the country grew the number of electoral votes also changed In 1789 George Washington received 69 electoral votes the highest number possible By 1888 a candidate needed 201 votes to win Today a candidate must win 270 votes
20 30 A Congress counts the electoral vote in 1913 recorded on a Certificate of Vote Certificates from all 50 states and Washington DC are counted in a joint session of Congress This is when the president is officially selected The term Electoral College refers to this entire process This process has been used to choose the president for many years However some people believe it is unfair They suggest using a different method instead
