3.  1. Congress votes
 2. Direct popular vote
 Compromise: electoral college system
› # of electors from each state equal to # of
members in congress
 Why did the founders of the U.S. choose
to set up an electoral college system?

4.  Founders of U.S. feared
that citizens would not
know enough about
candidates to make a
wise decision
› Lack of information
 Plus, the most popular
candidate might not
be the best…

5.  Popular vote-
deceiving
 The candidate that
wins the popular
vote does not always
win the electoral
college vote.
 EX: 2000 election

7.  George W. Bush, Republican
› Popular vote: 50,460,110 (47.87%)
› Electoral college vote: 271 (50.4%)
 Albert Gore Jr. , Democrat
› Popular vote: 51,003,926 (48.38%)
› Electoral college vote: 266 (49.4%)

8.  “Winner Take All” system (every state
except Maine and Nebraska)
› Example: in 1992, over 2 million people in
Texas voted for Clinton, but since Bush got
more votes in Texas, Bush got all of Texas’s
electoral votes and Clinton did not get any.

9.  Eliminating the electoral college would
weaken the federal system by taking
power away from the states
 Candidates would only focus on the
most populous cities like New York and
L.A., while ignoring the rest of the
country.

10.  Approx. how much time passes between
election day and inauguration day?
 What presidents, other than Bush, were
elected despite losing the popular vote?
 Is this method of electing the president
still valid in today’s society?

11.  Do you think the United States should
continue to use the Electoral College
system to select the president? Why or
why not? Use examples from the lecture
and discussion to support your claim.