Electoral College System
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 16.2.1
Electoral College System
The President is not directly elected - the Electoral College (EC) elects the President. Electors in the EC cast their votes in their state capitals and send their results to the vice-president.
Number of votes per state
- Every state has an amount of Electoral College votes (ECVs) equal to the number of Representatives plus two Senators it has in Congress.
- California has the most ECVs with 54, while Texas is second with 40.
Splitting the ECVs
- In most States, the candidate with the most votes wins all the state’s ECVs.
- However, In Maine and Nebraska, ECVs are awarded based on which candidate wins the most votes in the congressional districts within the state.
- This means that the state’s ECVs can be split between candidates.
Winning the presidency
- There are 538 ECVs in total.
- Candidates must win at least 270 ECVs to become president.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Electoral College System
The Electoral College system can give the winner a large amount of support. But it also distorts popular representation.
Strong outcome
- The Electoral College often gives the winner a large amount of support.
- This is important for a president who needs to unite the nation and gives them a large mandate to govern.
- The ECV system results in a strong outcome because in practice only two candidates compete for election.
Small states representation
- The Electoral College gives small states influence over the election result.
- Without the Electoral College system, voters in the least populated states would have no impact.
- But this means that small states are often over-represented compared to more populated states.
- Wyoming has one ECV for every 195,000 people whilst Texas has one ECV for every 734,000 people.
Popular vote
- In the ECV system, a candidate can have the highest number of individual votes but have the smallest number of ECVs.
- This means that a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election.
- This happened in the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections.
Test yourself on Electoral College System
How many ECVs does a candidate need to become President?
Which of the examples below are features of the electoral college?
What percentage of the popular vote did Barack Obama win in the 2008 election?
Which state has a larger number of people per electoral college vote?