What is the electoral college?

The electoral college is a body of electors appointed by the State who choose the president and vice president. To become president, a candidate must win a majority in the electoral college. The Constitution directs electors to vote in their respective states, and Congress is authorized to count their votes. The Constitution states (Article 2, Section 1) that "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." However, no senator, representative or officer of the U.S. government may be an elector.

Before 1804 (and addition of the Twelfth Amendment), in the event that no candidate had a majority, the House of Representatives chose the President from among the top five candidates on the electoral list. The Vice President was then chosen as being "the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President". However, the Twelfth Amendment, resulting from the election of 1800, stipulated that the electors vote separately for the president and the vice president, as well as making other changes.

Evolution of the Electoral College

In the early 1800s, state legislatures often chose electors, but the advent of democratic sentiment supported popular election of electors. Currently, a party need have only a plurality to carry the whole state, and in most states a voter casts his or her ballot for as many electors as the state is entitled to.

In fact, the electoral college system functioned as originally intended only in its earliest years, and dissatisfaction with it has repeatedly arisen. The main objection is that it has given the United States 14 so-called minority presidents, i.e., presidents who had a majority in the electoral college but lacked it in the total national popular vote - including George W. Bush in 2000. However, only Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and George W. Bush, failed to win a plurality of the popular vote.

Although numerous attempts have been made to change the electoral college system, none has succeeded.

For more on the electoral college, click here .