Contents
- 1 What day does the Electoral College vote in 2020?
- 2 Where does the Electoral College meet?
- 3 What is the Electoral College vote and how does it work?
- 4 Do electors follow the popular vote?
- 5 Why did the Founding Fathers create the Electoral College?
- 6 What three flaws affect the electoral college system?
- 7 Can electors vote for whoever they want?
- 8 How many states have certified their electoral votes?
- 9 Which two states split up the electors between candidates?
- 10 How does the Electoral College work in simple terms?
- 11 How Electoral College votes are determined?
- 12 Who picks the Electoral College?
- 13 What happens if the electoral votes are not certified?
- 14 What happens if the electoral vote is tied?
- 15 Who were the faithless electors 2016?
What day does the Electoral College vote in 2020?
December 14, 2020: Electors Vote in Their States Monday after the second Wednesday in December of presidential election years is set (3 U.S.C. §7) as the date on which the electors meet and vote.
Where does the Electoral College meet?
The electors of each state meet in their respective state capitals on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December to cast their votes.
What is the Electoral College vote and how does it work?
In nearly every state, the candidate who gets the most votes wins the “electoral votes” for that state, and gets that number of voters (or “electors”) in the “Electoral College.” Second, the “electors” from each of the 50 states gather in December and they vote for president.
Do electors follow the popular vote?
When citizens cast their ballots for president in the popular vote, they elect a slate of electors. Electors then cast the votes that decide who becomes president of the United States. Usually, electoral votes align with the popular vote in an election.
Why did the Founding Fathers create the Electoral College?
The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S. Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by popular vote or by Congress. Several weeks after the general election, electors from each state meet in their state capitals and cast their official vote for president and vice president.
What three flaws affect the electoral college system?
Three criticisms of the College are made:
- It is “undemocratic;”
- It permits the election of a candidate who does not win the most votes; and.
- Its winner-takes-all approach cancels the votes of the losing candidates in each state.
Can electors vote for whoever they want?
Specifically, the opinion held that electors have a constitutional right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice and are not bound by any prior pledges they may have made.
How many states have certified their electoral votes?
Electoral College Certificates and Votes by State
| State | Number of Electoral Votes for Each State | For Vice-President |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 3 | 3 |
| Arizona | 11 | – |
| Arkansas | 6 | 6 |
| California | 55 | – |
50
Which two states split up the electors between candidates?
Under the District Method, a State’s electoral votes can be split among two or more candidates, just as a state’s congressional delegation can be split among multiple political parties. As of 2008, Nebraska and Maine are the only states using the District Method of distributing electoral votes.
How does the Electoral College work in simple terms?
In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors based on its total number of representatives in Congress. Each elector casts one electoral vote following the general election; there are a total of 538 electoral votes. The candidate that gets more than half (270) wins the election.
How Electoral College votes are determined?
Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.
Who picks the Electoral College?
Who selects the electors? Choosing each State’s electors is a two-part process. First, the political parties in each State choose slates of potential electors sometime before the general election. Second, during the general election, the voters in each State select their State’s electors by casting their ballots.
What happens if the electoral votes are not certified?
The President and Vice President must achieve a majority of electoral votes (270) to be elected. In the absence of a majority, the House selects the President, and the Senate selects the Vice President. If they do not concur, the votes of the electors certified by the Governor of the State would be counted in Congress.
What happens if the electoral vote is tied?
In such a situation, the House chooses one of the top three presidential electoral vote-winners as the president, while the Senate chooses one of the top two vice presidential electoral vote-winners as vice president.
Who were the faithless electors 2016?
Three of the faithless electors voted for Colin Powell while John Kasich, Ron Paul, Bernie Sanders, and Faith Spotted Eagle each received one vote.