Can you explain the Electoral College?

The United States Electoral College is a name used to describe the official 538 Presidential electors who come together every four years during the presidential election to give their official votes for President and Vice President of the United States. The Constitution leaves states to decide how electors will vote.

How does a state decide electoral votes?

Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.

What are the major flaws in the electoral college system?

Three criticisms of the College are made: It is “undemocratic;” It permits the election of a candidate who does not win the most votes; and. Its winner-takes-all approach cancels the votes of the losing candidates in each state.

Which political official is elected through the Electoral College?

Established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States.

How does the Electoral College work in USA?

They vote instead for 538 electors who, according to the Constitution, meet in their respective states and vote for president and vice president. These people, the electors, comprise the Electoral College. Their votes are then counted by the president of the Senate in a joint session of Congress.

Why did many conservatives oppose the Electoral College in the past?

There are a few reasons: First, they feared factions and worried that voters wouldn’t make informed decisions. They didn’t want to tell states how to conduct their elections. There were also many who feared that the states with the largest voting populations would essentially end up choosing the President.

How many electoral college votes does Texas get?

Texas, the largest reliably Republican-leaning state, has 36 congressmen and two senators, so they get 38 electoral votes. Seven states – Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, along with DC – are so small, population-wise, that they only have one congressperson apiece, and the lowest possible three electoral votes.

What is the stain of slavery on the Electoral College?

The stain of slavery is on the Electoral College as it is on all US history; the formula for apportioning congressmen, which is directly tied to the number of electors, relied at that time on the 3/5 Compromise, whereby each slave in a state counted as fraction of a person to apportion congressional seats.