Why Do We Have The Electoral College?
Set aside your feelings on this issue, if you have any, and if you don't know what the electoral college is, no, you can't get a degree or study IT (information technology) there. It goes back to our federal system; that is, a system of divided power, with a national government and the individual states sharing power. When the nation was founded, the legislative branch was given two branches ("houses"), the "upper house" being called the Senate, where each state received two representatives, called "senators," regardless of the state's geographic or population size. Many Americans may not know this, but in those times, senators were NOT elected directly by a vote of the people, but rather, they were appointed by state legislatures. It wasn't until the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution by three quarters of the states in 1913, that thereafter, senators were elected directly by the vote of the people in their respective states. Senators are elected to serve for six year terms.
The "lower house," called the "House of Representatives," was deliberately set up to be closer to the people, as these representatives, commonly called a "congressman" or "congresswoman," serve two year terms, and they have always been elected directly by a vote of the people. These representatives are apportioned by population, currently with one representative apportioned for about each 700,000 people in a district. Congressional districts in the individual states are typically drawn by the state legislatures, the upper "houses" of which are called "senates," and the lower "houses" of which go by various designations. The state legislature of Nebraska, called the State Legislature of Nebraska (there's an echo in here), is the only one in the United States to have a one house legislature. The district boundaries approved by a state's legislature also needs the approval of the state's governor. Thus, which political party controls the legislative branches of each state and the governorship can be VERY important, for when one party controls both houses of a state's legislature, and also the governorship, congressional district boundaries, as well as that state's legislative districts boundaries, can be drawn favorably for that particular political party. Divided control in a state, can lead to compromises over such boundaries. Boundaries are determined after the national census is certified every ten years, so if the "State of Unrest" has its two legislative houses controlled by the "Chaos Party," and also the governor is a member of that party, the "Chaos Party" will likely draw any boundary adjustments to their favor, giving them an advantage for the next TEN YEARS, in both congressional elections and in state legislative elections. Understand, some states may not see enough change in population to warrant much change in boundaries, while other states may see major changes due to a big population increase or to a big population loss. Further, even a state that remains relatively steady in population, or that has a small gain over a ten year period, might see a loss in congressional representation, as the national population count is what determines how many people are to be represented in each congressional district, and the national count has always increased. The point is to try to keep representation as equal as possible, often summed up in the saying, "one man, one vote." Just for the sake of example, if, after ten years, a state with two congressional districts, has congressional district A with 900,000 residents, while district B has 700,000, that is not equal representation, and both districts will have to be drawn to comply with whatever the new amount per district is determined to be, after dividing the new national population by the number of congressional districts, which is 435. Let's just say that amount is 800,000; so district A will have to shave off 100,000 residents in boundary changes, to be given to district B, making both districts equally representing 800,000 residents.
"Okay Randy, the high school civics lesson is boring .... I mean GREAT, but what does this have to do with the Electoral College? ... Wait a minute, 'high school civics,' but 'electoral college?' I'm confused!"
Well the "Electoral College" is based on the number of United States senators and the number of members of the United States House of Representatives, collectively known as "Congress." The Electoral College has NOTHING to do with the number of state senators and state representatives in the individual state legislatures. The small population states feared big population states would run the country to their own benefit, and to the detriment of the small population states. So EVERY state was given two United states senators, regardless of population. Likewise, the big population states feared the small population states would have too much say in governing relative to their populations, so the system of representation based on population by district was implemented for the United States House of Representatives. As to presidential elections, when the country was founded, information traveled far more slowly than today, which made the Founders fear that if Americans could vote directly for a president, they would not have enough information about candidates from states far from them, and thus they would vote provincially; that is, for a candidate from or close to their own state, keeping the nation divided. Thus they chose an indirect election system for a president. The Electoral College provides for each state to receive one electoral vote for each congressional district within its boundaries, as well as one vote each for the two U.S. senators. So if state "XYZ" has eight congressional districts, it has ten electoral votes (8 representatives + 2 senators). The smallest number of electoral votes a state can have is three. The District of Columbia, which has no voting member of the House of Representatives and no senators, was given three electoral votes. There are 538 electoral votes available nationwide; 435 congressional districts, and 100 senators, plus the three votes for the District of Columbia. A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
Now, I know this a lot, but its our system, like it, not like it, whatever. It is VERY important for Americans to know their election system. Technically, when you vote for a president, you are voting for that person's, or really, that candidate's political party's "electors" to the Electoral College. The political parties of each state choose their electors in the way they have in their state party rules, which is often, but not always, by a state party convention. While we commonly think of the national Republican Party and the national Democratic Party, as well as various other political parties, the reality is, both of the major parties, and some of the smaller parties, each have 50 separate state political party organizations, as well as organizations for the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all with their own rules, although only the 50 states and the District of Columbia can vote in the actual national elections. Naturally the electors chosen by the state parties are considered loyal to their particular party, but on rare occasions, they abandon their party and choose a different course.* 48 of the states, and the District of Columbia, award all electors to the candidate with the most votes in their state. Maine and Nebraska award electors by congressional district, with the two representing the entire state going to the winner of the majority of votes in the entire state (voter turnout matters!).
After the election is held on the first Tuesday of November every four years, the votes are tabulated and, in theory, although usually, in fact, if candidate A won the state of Virginia, all of Virginia's electoral votes go to that candidate. "Typically," by election night or by the next day, the winner is known, although at times close state results can result in recounts, or the counting of challenged ballots, etc, that can delay the process. The electors meet in each state around the middle of December, depending upon the year, so more than a month after election day. The ballots are then sent to the United States Senate, and they are counted in early January during a joint session of Congress; that is, the Senate and the House of Representatives meet together.
In case you were wondering, it is important to know that, although relatively rare, a candidate can receive more votes from the public nationally, but lose the election, because of the number of electoral votes. John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush, in 2000, all lost the popular vote to their opponents, but won the electoral vote, except Adams, who was elected by the House of Representatives, as neither he, nor Andrew Jackson, had the required number of electoral votes. In fact, Jackson led Adams in both the popular vote AND the electoral vote, but the House chose Adams. Rutherford B. Hayes won the electoral vote by the landslide margin of .... ONE!
* The individual states set the laws governing the votes of electors to the Electoral College. Some states punish electors who do not vote as per the popular vote in their state. The Supreme Court ruled many years ago that states have a right to require electors to vote by the state rules. In more modern times, votes cast contrary to the public vote in some states can be voided.
WORD HISTORY:
College-This compound word, the second part of which is distantly related to "legal" and "legate," with the entire word closely related to "colleague," goes back to Indo European "leg," which had the notion "to gather, to collect, to pick;" thus also, "select, choose." This gave Latin "lego," which meant "select, appoint." This then was formed into a compound, collegium," ^ meaning, "a collection of people to perform a particular task, including school, group, organization or partnership." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "college," with the same meaning. It was borrowed by English in the 1300s, with the "organization" meaning, but it's association with schooling continued to grow, although it wasn't until the 1800s that the primary meaning became, "a specialized subject department of a university." American English uses the word more broadly for "an educational facility for undergraduate studies," although in every day speech many Americans use it interchangeably with university ("So your son is off at college and is about to get his doctorate?").
^ The prefix being an abbreviated form of "con," which was a prefix intensifier meaning, "with, together, totally." From Indo European "kom," meaning, "with, by, near." The suffix, "ium," from the Latin suffix "ius," derived from Indo European "yos," a suffix often used for adjectives when used as nouns.
The "lower house," called the "House of Representatives," was deliberately set up to be closer to the people, as these representatives, commonly called a "congressman" or "congresswoman," serve two year terms, and they have always been elected directly by a vote of the people. These representatives are apportioned by population, currently with one representative apportioned for about each 700,000 people in a district. Congressional districts in the individual states are typically drawn by the state legislatures, the upper "houses" of which are called "senates," and the lower "houses" of which go by various designations. The state legislature of Nebraska, called the State Legislature of Nebraska (there's an echo in here), is the only one in the United States to have a one house legislature. The district boundaries approved by a state's legislature also needs the approval of the state's governor. Thus, which political party controls the legislative branches of each state and the governorship can be VERY important, for when one party controls both houses of a state's legislature, and also the governorship, congressional district boundaries, as well as that state's legislative districts boundaries, can be drawn favorably for that particular political party. Divided control in a state, can lead to compromises over such boundaries. Boundaries are determined after the national census is certified every ten years, so if the "State of Unrest" has its two legislative houses controlled by the "Chaos Party," and also the governor is a member of that party, the "Chaos Party" will likely draw any boundary adjustments to their favor, giving them an advantage for the next TEN YEARS, in both congressional elections and in state legislative elections. Understand, some states may not see enough change in population to warrant much change in boundaries, while other states may see major changes due to a big population increase or to a big population loss. Further, even a state that remains relatively steady in population, or that has a small gain over a ten year period, might see a loss in congressional representation, as the national population count is what determines how many people are to be represented in each congressional district, and the national count has always increased. The point is to try to keep representation as equal as possible, often summed up in the saying, "one man, one vote." Just for the sake of example, if, after ten years, a state with two congressional districts, has congressional district A with 900,000 residents, while district B has 700,000, that is not equal representation, and both districts will have to be drawn to comply with whatever the new amount per district is determined to be, after dividing the new national population by the number of congressional districts, which is 435. Let's just say that amount is 800,000; so district A will have to shave off 100,000 residents in boundary changes, to be given to district B, making both districts equally representing 800,000 residents.
"Okay Randy, the high school civics lesson is boring .... I mean GREAT, but what does this have to do with the Electoral College? ... Wait a minute, 'high school civics,' but 'electoral college?' I'm confused!"
Well the "Electoral College" is based on the number of United States senators and the number of members of the United States House of Representatives, collectively known as "Congress." The Electoral College has NOTHING to do with the number of state senators and state representatives in the individual state legislatures. The small population states feared big population states would run the country to their own benefit, and to the detriment of the small population states. So EVERY state was given two United states senators, regardless of population. Likewise, the big population states feared the small population states would have too much say in governing relative to their populations, so the system of representation based on population by district was implemented for the United States House of Representatives. As to presidential elections, when the country was founded, information traveled far more slowly than today, which made the Founders fear that if Americans could vote directly for a president, they would not have enough information about candidates from states far from them, and thus they would vote provincially; that is, for a candidate from or close to their own state, keeping the nation divided. Thus they chose an indirect election system for a president. The Electoral College provides for each state to receive one electoral vote for each congressional district within its boundaries, as well as one vote each for the two U.S. senators. So if state "XYZ" has eight congressional districts, it has ten electoral votes (8 representatives + 2 senators). The smallest number of electoral votes a state can have is three. The District of Columbia, which has no voting member of the House of Representatives and no senators, was given three electoral votes. There are 538 electoral votes available nationwide; 435 congressional districts, and 100 senators, plus the three votes for the District of Columbia. A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
Now, I know this a lot, but its our system, like it, not like it, whatever. It is VERY important for Americans to know their election system. Technically, when you vote for a president, you are voting for that person's, or really, that candidate's political party's "electors" to the Electoral College. The political parties of each state choose their electors in the way they have in their state party rules, which is often, but not always, by a state party convention. While we commonly think of the national Republican Party and the national Democratic Party, as well as various other political parties, the reality is, both of the major parties, and some of the smaller parties, each have 50 separate state political party organizations, as well as organizations for the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all with their own rules, although only the 50 states and the District of Columbia can vote in the actual national elections. Naturally the electors chosen by the state parties are considered loyal to their particular party, but on rare occasions, they abandon their party and choose a different course.* 48 of the states, and the District of Columbia, award all electors to the candidate with the most votes in their state. Maine and Nebraska award electors by congressional district, with the two representing the entire state going to the winner of the majority of votes in the entire state (voter turnout matters!).
After the election is held on the first Tuesday of November every four years, the votes are tabulated and, in theory, although usually, in fact, if candidate A won the state of Virginia, all of Virginia's electoral votes go to that candidate. "Typically," by election night or by the next day, the winner is known, although at times close state results can result in recounts, or the counting of challenged ballots, etc, that can delay the process. The electors meet in each state around the middle of December, depending upon the year, so more than a month after election day. The ballots are then sent to the United States Senate, and they are counted in early January during a joint session of Congress; that is, the Senate and the House of Representatives meet together.
In case you were wondering, it is important to know that, although relatively rare, a candidate can receive more votes from the public nationally, but lose the election, because of the number of electoral votes. John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush, in 2000, all lost the popular vote to their opponents, but won the electoral vote, except Adams, who was elected by the House of Representatives, as neither he, nor Andrew Jackson, had the required number of electoral votes. In fact, Jackson led Adams in both the popular vote AND the electoral vote, but the House chose Adams. Rutherford B. Hayes won the electoral vote by the landslide margin of .... ONE!
* The individual states set the laws governing the votes of electors to the Electoral College. Some states punish electors who do not vote as per the popular vote in their state. The Supreme Court ruled many years ago that states have a right to require electors to vote by the state rules. In more modern times, votes cast contrary to the public vote in some states can be voided.
WORD HISTORY:
College-This compound word, the second part of which is distantly related to "legal" and "legate," with the entire word closely related to "colleague," goes back to Indo European "leg," which had the notion "to gather, to collect, to pick;" thus also, "select, choose." This gave Latin "lego," which meant "select, appoint." This then was formed into a compound, collegium," ^ meaning, "a collection of people to perform a particular task, including school, group, organization or partnership." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "college," with the same meaning. It was borrowed by English in the 1300s, with the "organization" meaning, but it's association with schooling continued to grow, although it wasn't until the 1800s that the primary meaning became, "a specialized subject department of a university." American English uses the word more broadly for "an educational facility for undergraduate studies," although in every day speech many Americans use it interchangeably with university ("So your son is off at college and is about to get his doctorate?").
^ The prefix being an abbreviated form of "con," which was a prefix intensifier meaning, "with, together, totally." From Indo European "kom," meaning, "with, by, near." The suffix, "ium," from the Latin suffix "ius," derived from Indo European "yos," a suffix often used for adjectives when used as nouns.
Labels: congressional districts, Electoral College, electoral vote, English, etymology, federal system, French, House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams, Latin, U.S. Senate
posted by Randy at 9:29 AM
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