Under this plan, each elector cast two votes for president; the candidate who received the most votes became the president, with the second-place finisher becoming vice president — which led to administrations in which political opponents served in those roles. The process was overhauled in with the ratification of the 12th Amendment , which required electors to cast votes separately for president and vice president. At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the northern states and southern states had roughly equal populations.
As a result, delegates from the South objected to a direct popular vote in presidential elections, which would have given their states less electoral representation.
Wilfred U. After the Civil War, in , a contested Electoral College outcome was settled by a compromise in which the House awarded Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency with the understanding that he would withdraw military forces from the Southern states.
This led to the end of Reconstruction and paved the way for racial segregation under Jim Crow laws. Despite black voting patterns to the contrary, five of the six states whose populations are 25 percent or more black have been reliably red in recent presidential elections. Under the Electoral College, black votes are submerged. Ever since the 19th century reforms, states have expected their electors to honor the will of the voters. In other words, electors are now pledged to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state.
As of , there have been 90 faithless electoral votes cast out of 23, in total across all presidential elections. The election saw a record-breaking seven faithless electors , including three who voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was not a presidential candidate at the time.
Currently, 33 states and the District of Columbia require their presidential electors to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged.
Only 5 states, however, impose a penalty on faithless electors, and only 14 states provide for faithless electors to be removed or for their votes to be canceled. In July , the Supreme Court unanimously upheld existing state laws that punish or remove faithless electors. The Electoral College website now has an easy-to-remember address.
Make sure to update your bookmarks! The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors , the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.
In , there were seven faithless electors, the most since —three Democratic electors from Washington state cast their votes for Republican Colin Powell, instead of Democrat Hillary Clinton; one Democratic elector from Washington state cast his vote for Faith Spotted Eagle, a woman who is a member of the Yankton Sioux Nation; one Democratic elector from Hawaii cast his vote for Bernie Sanders, instead of Hillary Clinton; one Republican elector from Texas cast his vote for John Kasich, instead of Donald Trump; and one Republican elector from Texas cast his vote for Libertarian Ron Paul.
The last time an elector crossed party lines was in , when an elector nominated by the Republican Party cast his ballot for the Libertarian ticket. Some states have passed laws that require their electors to vote as pledged. These laws may either impose a fine on an elector who fails to vote according to the statewide or district popular vote, or may disqualify an elector who violates his or her pledge and provide a replacement elector.
In July , the U. Supreme Court ruled that it is constitutional for states to enact this type of law. The states with laws that attempt to bind the votes of presidential electors are below:. Most of the laws cited above require electors to vote for the candidate of the party that nominated the elector, or require the elector to sign a pledge to do so. In South Carolina, an elector who violates his or her pledge is subject to criminal penalties, and in New Mexico a violation is a fourth degree felony.
In Michigan, a candidate who fails to vote as required is considered to have resigned, and a replacement is appointed. Create Account.
The Electoral College. This website uses cookies to analyze traffic and for other purposes. Since , 3 U. During the Joint Session, lawmakers may object to individual electoral votes or to state returns as a whole. An objection must be declared in writing and signed by at least one Representative and one Senator.
In the case of an objection, the Joint Session recesses and each chamber considers the objection separately for no more than two hours; each Member may speak for five minutes or less. After each house votes on whether to accept the objection, the Joint Session reconvenes and both chambers disclose their decisions. If both chambers agree to the objection, the electoral votes in question are not counted. If either chamber opposes the objection, the votes are counted. Originally, the Electoral College provided the Constitutional Convention with a compromise between two main proposals: the popular election of the President and the election of the President by Congress.
There have been other attempts to change the system, particularly after cases in which a candidate wins the popular vote, but loses in the Electoral College. The closest Congress has come to amending the Electoral College since was during the 91st Congress — when the House passed H. The resolution cleared the House to 70, but failed to pass the Senate.
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