The Electoral College Primer: How it Works

In my many ill-advised political conversations with people sitting around while sharing beers and such, it occurs to me that most Americans don't really understand how our highest leaders are actually elected. While most recognize the term, "Electoral College," perhaps only a small percentage know what it is or how it works (and even fewer know why the system was created). If you have a good understanding of the electoral system, feel free to skip this post; this post is designed to help folks (who either aren't aware, or who have forgotten how the process works) brush up on their knowledge of how we actually pick our president and vice president. Butt and ReButt debates are the wrong place to engage in complex educational essays, but a little bit of explanation of the system seems in order. Toward that end, I will explain how we vote for our leaders, but for a history of the Electoral College system and it's pros and cons, you'll need to read Dano's and Reed's debate.

For those of you who are legal and/or political scholars, simplicity and clarity dictate that the explanation that follows may be oversimplified and even slightly incorrect (though, not substantively). Please don't make unimportant correction comments to this post.

After reading this entry, it is hoped that some participants can then better enjoy and understand our debate posts for this week, "should we scrap the Electoral College system in favor of one that relies strictly on the popular vote?"

How We Vote for President and Vice President

When we vote for the president and vice president of the U.S., we are not actually voting for the candidates; we are voting for the group of people appointed within our respective states to represent us in the national election. These people, selected by varied methods from state to state, are collectively known as "electors," and, taken together, are known as the "Electoral College" (though this term is not found in the Constitution). Each state has as many electors as they have representatives and senators in the U.S. Congress. All told, there are 538 members of the Electoral College (equal to the 535 members of Congress plus three for the District of Columbia).

In many states, the electors are required by state law to vote according to the outcome of the popular vote within the state. In other words, if the majority of the popular vote favors the Republican candidate, the electors would be required to cast all of the state's electoral votes for the Republican candidate. In some other states, this loyalty to the public is not required, but history shows that there have been very few instances of "faithless electors," as those who vote contrary to the loyalty promise are known. Two states, Nebraska and Maine, stand alone in their choice to select electors largely by Congressional districts, such that the respective Democratic and Republican candidates can both gain a portion of the electoral votes in these two states.

So, the long and short of it is that on election day, each state tallies up the popular votes within the state and, ideally, the state's electors agree to cast the state's votes according to the public majority. Within Florida, for example, if the Democratic candidate gets 51% of the popular vote of Floridians, the state's electors would certify that Florida voted for the Democratic candidate. Each state, in turn, sends their state's electoral vote tallies to the U.S. Congress, which officially counts them in December of each election year, and certifies the winners. Winners must have gotten a simple majority of the total collective electoral votes -- 270 electoral votes out of the total of 538. In the unlikely case of an electoral vote tie, complex provisions require that Congress make the final decision.

Hope that helps. On to the debate posts, now!