Article II Section 1 set up the Electoral College.

1. At election time electors would meet in their state and cast their electoral vote for president
2. Electoral votes from all states would be counted in a joint session of Congress
3. Candidate with the most votes become president, second most vice president
4. In case of a tie, House of Representatives will chose the president

Twelfth amendment requires that electors cast separate ballots for president and vice president

If no candidate vice gets a majority of electoral votes, the Senate chooses from the top two candidates

if no one candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the House chooses from the three candidates who have the largest number of electoral votes

Electoral college is still around today

538 electors in the college- determined by the total of House and Senate members plus 3 for the District of Columbia

Winner take all system makes it possible for a candidate who loses the popular vote to win the electoral vote

Five times in American history, the candidate who lose the popular vote won the election

Third party candidate could win enough electoral votes to prevent either major-party candidate from receiving a majority of the votes

• Election by the House causes three problems:
• States with small populations (like Alaska and Nevada) have as much weight as populated states (California)
• If a majority state state’s representation cannot agree on a candidate, state loses its vote
• If some House members favor a strong third-party candidate, it could be difficult for any candidate to get 260 votes needed to win

Choosing electors from congressional districts with each state would have two electoral votes plus one vote for each congressional district

Candidate with the most districts in a state would receive the two statewide electoral votes

presidential candidates would win the same share of a state’s electoral vote as they received of the state’s popular vote

People directly electing the president and vice president

Undermines federalism because states would lose their role in the choice of a president

Means candidates would concentrate their efforts in densely populated areas

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January 20th in the year following the presidential election is when president is sworn in