2. Notable Presidents
War on: he gets going Oh Man! Brain call Hot oversteered loo
George Washington Abraham Lincoln Theodore Roosevelt
Finest love-lorn dark Jail limit 'n' clown He grew bogus
In Marx in chord
Franklin D Roosevelt William J Clinton George W Bush
Richard M Nixon

3. How does the Electoral College work?
• Voters in the US go to the polls in their states (there are 50)
• There are 538 ‘electors’ who will decide the election. A
candidate needs support of 270 electors to win the presidency
• Each state has the same number of electors as members in its
congressional delegation. Texas has 38 electors total, equal to
its 36 members in the House and 2 Senators.
• California has the most with 55. Texas has the second most. 3
is the smallest number of electors for any state.
• Most states have a winner-takes-all rule
• So even if a candidate wins just 50.1 percent of the popular
vote in a state, they win all of the electoral votes in that state.
The exceptions to the winner-takes-all rule are Maine and
Nebraska.
• The totals are added up – and a winner is decided on
Wednesday morning...usually!

4. Interesting elections!

5. • First presidential election
• There was not universal suffrage as we know it today – only 6%
of population could vote •
• Electors had two votes
• Three states did not vote for various reasons •
• In the early years the runner up became Vice President

6. • Electoral college landslide – Nixon takes 48 states
• A ‘faithless voter’ in Virginia votes for John Hospers
• California becomes most populous state and therefore
has most electors for the first time overtaking NY
• 18 year olds can vote for the first time (26th Amendment)
•
• Nixon resigned two years later after the Watergate •
scandal •

7. • What seems like a straightforward win for Clinton is masked
by the performance of a third party ‘spoiler’ candidate
• Although Ross Perot gained no electoral college votes, he did
pick up over 19 million of the popular vote •
• As Perot was a right wing candidate it could be argued that if
he hadn’t have stood George H Bush may have won a 2nd term •
•

8. • Bush wins presidency despite Gore gaining 500,000 more votes
nationwide
• The election comes down to Florida’s 25 electoral college votes, with Bush
winning the state by just 500 votes
• Problems with voting machines in some areas leads to court challenges by •
Gore – the Supreme Court finally deciding to end manual recounts by 5-4 •
• Again a third party ‘spoiler’ has an impact – environmentalist Ralph Nader.
If he had not have stood it is likely Gore would have won the election

9. • Obama received more votes than any candidate in history
– almost 70 million
• McCain won Nebraska but Obama took one Electoral •
College vote – the first time it had done this since •
changing system in 1992 •
2000 Election stolen?

10. Battleground states
• Most states have a history
of voting for a particular
party and the presidential
candidates will count on
their votes again. This
leaves a handful of states
where the election will be
decided. These are the
election battlegrounds.
• In these states the race is
close enough that either
candidate could win. These
"purple states" are where
the campaigns will focus
their time and money.

11. There are Congressional elections
today too!

12. House of
Representatives
• Each state elects
Representatives
based on their
population
• California elects • All 435 House members are up for re-election
most in 2012
Representatives • The House is not expected to change
- 53, Alaska hands, though either party could make gains
elects 1 depending on the results of the 20 ‘toss-up’
districts
• The Republicans • Missouri 2nd district pitches Todd Akin (R)
currently have a against Claire McCaskill (D) after his
clear majority in controversial ‘legitimate rape’ comments. The
the House (242- race has narrowed but Akin is still expected to
193) win

13. Senate
• Each state elects 2
Senators
regardless of
population size
• The Democrats
currently have a • 1/3 (33) of Senate is up for re-
slim majority in
the Senate (51-47) election in 2012
• Well short of a • The Senate is not expected to
‘filibuster’ proof change hands, though there could
total of 60 be a tie if all 4 of the ‘toss-up’ races
• The 2 go to the Republican candidates
‘Independents’ (Montana, ND, Wisconsin and
both caucus with Virginia)
the Democrats

14. There are also Gubernatorial
Elections in 11 states...
• Including West Virginia, North Carolina and Utah
...and also initiatives!
• There are 174 propositions on 37 state ballots
on issues ranging from:
• Legalising marijuana (Colorado, Oregon &
Washington)
• Same-sex marriage (Maine, Washington &
Maryland)
• Health care (Alabama, Florida, Montana &
Wyoming)
• And more including death penalty & taxes...

15. The first polls close at Midnight...
• 0:00 am (6): Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South
Carolina, Vermont, Virginia
• 0:30 am (3): North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia
• 1:00 am (16):
Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Marylan
d,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Tennessee
• 1:30 am (1): Arkansas
• 2:00 am (14):
Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska,
New Mexico,
New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming
• 3:00 am (4): Iowa, Montana, Nevada, Utah
• 4:00 am (5): California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
So6:00am (1): Alaska after college and set your alarm for
•
straight to bed
11...and don’t forget the bingo sheet!