How the Electoral College works

The people of the United States elect a president every four years, but not directly.  Last night my family shared a meal with some friends and we watched what was taking place in our nation.    During the day and evening questions were asked about the Electoral College.  How does it work?  What is the importance of it?  Even, why do we have it?  Well, here are some thoughts on how it works and why we have it.

1.     Every four years, in November it is called a presidential election year.  Each state holds an election for president in which all eligible citizens may vote. Today citizens vote for a "ticket" of candidates that includes a candidate for president and a candidate for vice president.

2.     The outcome of the vote in each state determines a slate of electors who then, in turn, make the actual choice of president and vice president. Each state has as many electors as it has senators and members of the House of Representatives, for a total of 538. (The District of Columbia gets three electors even though it has no representation in Congress.)

3.     In December, the electors meet in their respective state capitols to cast their ballots for president and vice president. States may or may not require their electors to vote with the popular majority, and they may or may not give all of their electors to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

4.     These ballots are opened, counted, and certified by a joint session of Congress in January.

5.     If no candidate wins a majority of the electoral votes or if the top two candidates are tied, the House of Representatives selects a president from among the five candidates with the most votes. Each state's delegation has a single vote. The Senate selects a vice president by the same process. (This hasn't happened since 1876, but it almost happened in 2000.)

What does this mean in practice? It means, that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide does not necessarily become president.  The reason for this is there is no national election for president, only separate state elections! For a candidate to become president, he or she must win enough state elections to garner a majority of electoral votes. Presidential campaigns, therefore, focus on winning states, not on winning a national majority.
It also means that — at least in theory — electors can spoil the popular will and vote for a candidate not supported by the voters of their state. In practice, however, electors are pledged to cast their votes in accordance with the popular vote, and "faithless electors" who go against the popular vote are extremely rare. 

The question is often raised: Why not a popular vote?   Here is an attempt to give some modern and historical perspectives:

In 1787, no nation like the United States existed anywhere in the world.  The "founding fathers" were debating many aspects of government.  Practices and policies alike were often intensely debated.  They often looked to history, philosophy, and the Bible for guidance and understanding.  Through this process it became clear what they did and did not like about existing governments in Europe and around the world.  Not all of them agreed — in fact, many of them disagreed completely with one another.  At times they even had heated debates both in person and on paper via letters sent to one another.  Debates on important issues such as how much power the people should have, how much power the states should have and the roles and power limitations of all the branches of our government were hot topics.   When it came to the Electoral College this system was a compromise on two important issues:

1.     The first was how much power the people should have.

2.     The second was how much power small and large states should have.

When considering the Electoral College these are two central issues.  In 1787, it was not at all clear whether “democracy” would work. In fact "democracy" was a bit of an uncertainty in the minds of many.  The idea of a true democracy raised fears of mob rule.  This had happened in a few places during and after the Revolution and many wanted to ensure it did not happen again.  It is important to keep in mind that The United States was intended as a Republic not a Democracy, in which the people would govern themselves only through elected representatives.
Because the role of the president was so important, most of the framers thought that the people couldn't be trusted to elect the president directly. Instead, they should elect electors, who would convene as a "college of electors" to consider the available candidates and pick the best man for the job.
Before the Revolution, the British colonists did not have much awareness of being an American. They may have identified themselves instead with the British Empire and with their own colonies. Even after the Revolution, loyalty to one's state often still came first. The Constitution was intended to unite the states under a single national government — but not entirely. Small states like New Jersey feared that if they formed a union with the other twelve states, they would be swallowed up under the influence of more populous states like Virginia and New York. Virginia and New York, of course, thought that they should have the most influence. That is why the states have equal representation in the Senate but representation by population in the House of Representatives: it was a compromise that allowed large states to “let their voice” be heard but still allowed small states to keep their identities and fight for their interests.
When it came to voting for president, the framers of the Constitution decided that the states should do the voting, not the people. It is important to keep in mind that there was no consciousness of the United States as a single nation; it was, literally, a union of separate states. So voting for president was to take place by state, so that each state could have its say. The compromise between big and small states was extended to the Electoral College, so that each state has as many electors as it has senators and members of the House of Representatives combined. Big states still have the most influence, but small states aren't completely lost in the national vote.

It was up to the states to decide how they ought to vote for their electors — and to a great extent still is, in fact. There is no national election for president, but rather fifty-one separate elections, one in each state and one in the District of Columbia. In the beginning, state legislatures voted for electors, who in turn voted for the president and vice president. Electors were free to vote for the candidate of their choice, but over time they were increasingly elected because they supported a particular candidate. By 1832, every state but South Carolina held direct elections for president, and electors were effectively bound to vote for a particular candidate. (South Carolina held out until 1864.)

Today, of course, every state allows citizens to vote.  Then it is the duty of the Electoral College to officially elect the President and Vice President of the United States.  Today, the number of electors is 538, based on the total voting membership of the United States Congress (435 Representatives and 100 Senators) plus three electors from the District of Columbia.

The electors are still not legally bound to vote for any particular candidate. An elector could, in theory, throw his or her vote to any candidate! Since each candidate has his or her own slate of electors, however, and since the electors are chosen not only for their loyalty but because they take their responsibility seriously, this almost never happens. (It last happened in 1988, when it had no impact on the outcome of the election.) Some states have laws requiring electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote.

In addition, a state doesn't have to throw all of its electors behind the candidate that receives the most popular votes in that state. Two states, Maine and Nebraska, assign one elector to the winner of each Congressional district and the remaining two electors to the candidate with the most votes statewide.

The original Constitution also did not take into account the development of political parties. Electors were to vote for two candidates for president. The man with the highest number of votes that was a majority became president, and the man with the second highest number of votes became vice president. In 1800, however, the Democratic-Republican Party nominated Thomas Jefferson for president and Aaron Burr for vice president, and because there was no separate voting for the two offices, the two men tied in the electoral college. The House of Representatives had to decide the issue. Afterwards, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, changing the system to what we see practiced today.