2008 Woodie Awards
Electoral college vs. popular vote
Katelyn Henry
Issue date: 10/31/04 Section: Feature-ELECTION 2004
- Page 1 of 1
Although the election is now less than one week away, the next man to take the Oval Office will not be officially decided until December-Monday, the 13th of December to be precise. This is the day that the 538 members of the Electoral College will cast their votes for the next President and Vice President of the United States of America.
Many may remember the controversy surrounding the last Presidential election, when George W. Bush, who lost the popular vote, beat Al Gore, winner of the popular vote to the White House. This may leave people wondering why, even though electors are supposed to vote in accordance with their state's voters, voting on November 2nd is so important if the ultimate decision is someone else's hands.
But, the Electoral College choosing a President not picked by the popular vote is quite uncommon. In addition to the 2000 election, the Electoral College has only overridden the majority vote twice: in 1888, electing Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland, and in 1876, electing Rutherford B. Sullivan over Samuel Tilden.
Despite only a few mishaps, many may question why the Electoral College still exists.
Its purpose dates as far back as our nation's Constitution, when the framers couldn't decide how to elect the leader of our nation-congressional selection or direct popular election. The Electoral College combined both approaches, and thus was included in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution.
There is also reasoning behind choosing the electors; it's not a random process.
To make the vote fair, each state receives as many electoral votes as it has senators and representatives, giving each state, including the District of Columbia, at least three. This year, Connecticut has seven, Rhode Island is given four, and Massachusetts, the highest of all New England States, will cast twelve electoral votes. New York, second only to California's fifty-five, has thirty-four votes.
The electors themselves are chosen by the political parties in each state, pledging to support their candidate when it comes time to vote. Whichever party receives the popular vote on Tuesday is then given the opportunity to vote in December. At least 270 electoral votes are then needed to elect the President.
Their votes are not counted, however, until over two months after registered voters have all gone to the voting booths. On January 6th, all of the Electoral ballots are unsealed and read before both houses of Congress.
But, like with the close race in 2000, what happens if the Electoral College cannot reach a majority vote?
In this instance, according to the law, the House of Representatives chooses the President and the Senate would choose the Vice President.
It's not until January 20, 2005 that the President and Vice President will officially be sworn into office.
In the mean time, remember every individual vote still matters-the electors of the Electoral College choose who will be the next resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue based on who the popular vote in each state deems worthy.
Senior
Many may remember the controversy surrounding the last Presidential election, when George W. Bush, who lost the popular vote, beat Al Gore, winner of the popular vote to the White House. This may leave people wondering why, even though electors are supposed to vote in accordance with their state's voters, voting on November 2nd is so important if the ultimate decision is someone else's hands.
But, the Electoral College choosing a President not picked by the popular vote is quite uncommon. In addition to the 2000 election, the Electoral College has only overridden the majority vote twice: in 1888, electing Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland, and in 1876, electing Rutherford B. Sullivan over Samuel Tilden.
Despite only a few mishaps, many may question why the Electoral College still exists.
Its purpose dates as far back as our nation's Constitution, when the framers couldn't decide how to elect the leader of our nation-congressional selection or direct popular election. The Electoral College combined both approaches, and thus was included in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution.
There is also reasoning behind choosing the electors; it's not a random process.
To make the vote fair, each state receives as many electoral votes as it has senators and representatives, giving each state, including the District of Columbia, at least three. This year, Connecticut has seven, Rhode Island is given four, and Massachusetts, the highest of all New England States, will cast twelve electoral votes. New York, second only to California's fifty-five, has thirty-four votes.
The electors themselves are chosen by the political parties in each state, pledging to support their candidate when it comes time to vote. Whichever party receives the popular vote on Tuesday is then given the opportunity to vote in December. At least 270 electoral votes are then needed to elect the President.
Their votes are not counted, however, until over two months after registered voters have all gone to the voting booths. On January 6th, all of the Electoral ballots are unsealed and read before both houses of Congress.
But, like with the close race in 2000, what happens if the Electoral College cannot reach a majority vote?
In this instance, according to the law, the House of Representatives chooses the President and the Senate would choose the Vice President.
It's not until January 20, 2005 that the President and Vice President will officially be sworn into office.
In the mean time, remember every individual vote still matters-the electors of the Electoral College choose who will be the next resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue based on who the popular vote in each state deems worthy.
Senior