Should the U.S. abolish the electoral college?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, your big brain, the information provided and any links below:
What portion of Americans say we should change the current system so the candidate who wins the most votes wins?
Describe the difference in support for and against the electoral college.
Identify one trend you see in the data.
The 2000 election and the 2016 election were won by the candidate who got the least popular votes. The last Republican to have won a U.S. presidential election as well as the popular vote was George W. Bush in 2004. Based on these facts and your knowledge of American government and politics, what do you think is the most important cause of the trend you identified?
Based on the visual below*, describe how party identification impacts opinion on the electoral college.
Based on the visual below*, how does age impact opinion on the electoral college:?
According to Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution:
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
Translate the above clauses into a succinct 1 or 2 sentence synopsis.
A majority of Americans want to abolish the electoral college. Considering the data from the chart above, the difficulties of the Amendment process (see image below*), do you think it is likely that the U.S. will amend the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College? Also, hypothetically, could we amend the Constitution to abolish the Constitution?
Explain whether you would prefer to amend the Constitution so the candidate who receives the most votes wins, or do you prefer to keep the current system so the candidate who wins the Electoral College vote wins?
The U.S. Constitution has only been amended 17 times since the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. Make a claim about whether the Framers of the Constitution were more interested in a participatory or an elite democracy.
Visual Extension*
Learning Extension
Take ten seconds and draw the electoral college. I know, I know: you aren’t an artist, this isn’t AP Studio Art, You’re hangry. I get it. But really, this will really, Really, Really help you remember the concept of The Electoral College - I promise. Take ten seconds and draw The Electoral College. I’m not going to take this up for a grade or Tweet it to all your friends. Just draw. It can be stick figures, or big blocks and shapes, or totally abstract-it doesn’t matter. Now that you’ve drawn, take a second and look at your masterpiece. That’s it. Really. Now you’ve got The Electoral College in Your long term memory - right where we want it! Thank you for playing.
Action Extension
Contact your U.S. House Representative, let them know what you think about the Electoral College, and tell them what you’d like them to do about it?
Access to all our history lessons and labs.