In simple terms, the electoral college is the group of citizens that vote for the President and Vice President of the United States. When Americans cast their vote for President and Vice President, they are really casting their vote for presidential electors. These electors then elect the chief executive. Each Presidential election year, those wanting to serve as an elector are nominated by political parties in each state, usually at state party conventions. The election held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November is the one that decides who will be part of the electoral college, with the candidate earning the most popular votes being elected. Each state gets the number of electors that is equal to the combined total of the state’s
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In the beginning, the founders considered several other methods that would possibly help determine the next President of the United States. They considered selection by Congress, but decided it might create hard feelings between members. Another considered idea was selection by state legislatures. This idea was turned down as the founders feared that this would ultimately undermine the idea of federalism that our government is based upon. One more idea considered was selection by direct popular election. The fathers believed the general population would vote for the popular candidate instead of choosing the one most worthy of the position. Other ideas that were tossed around included selection by governors of states and selection by special group of members of Congress. After much debate, the matter was sent to the Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters, who thought up the idea of the electoral …show more content…
There are three different scenarios that could lead to this happening. First, if there were to be three or more presidential candidates, they could possibly split the votes to a point that no majority could be reached. Second, a third candidate can cause no one to receive over the necessary fifty percent of the national popular total. Third, one candidate may have a largely popular vote in a few states while his opponent has a smaller popular lead in a larger amount of states, causing his opponent to win the
In the beginning, the founders considered several other methods that would possibly help determine the next President of the United States. They considered selection by Congress, but decided it might create hard feelings between members. Another considered idea was selection by state legislatures. This idea was turned down as the founders feared that this would ultimately undermine the idea of federalism that our government is based upon. One more idea considered was selection by direct popular election. The fathers believed the general population would vote for the popular candidate instead of choosing the one most worthy of the position. Other ideas that were tossed around included selection by governors of states and selection by special group of members of Congress. After much debate, the matter was sent to the Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters, who thought up the idea of the electoral …show more content…
There are three different scenarios that could lead to this happening. First, if there were to be three or more presidential candidates, they could possibly split the votes to a point that no majority could be reached. Second, a third candidate can cause no one to receive over the necessary fifty percent of the national popular total. Third, one candidate may have a largely popular vote in a few states while his opponent has a smaller popular lead in a larger amount of states, causing his opponent to win the