Electoral College

How do you figure out how many electors a state has?

#of people in the house of representatives from that state+ #of senators from that state= the number of electors from that state

How many electors are there in Texas?

38; because there are 36 people in the house of representatives from Texas and 2 senates from Texas.

what is the lowest number of electors a state can have?

3; because every state has at least 1 person in the house of representatives and every state has only 2 senates because of the Great Compromise.

How many electors are there in the U.S.?

435 people in the house of representatives+100 senates+3 electors from D.C.= 538

What is a battle ground state?

A state that could vote either Republican or Democratic.

What does the election depend on?

Battle Ground States because most other states are likely to vote for who they normally vote for.

Why didn't some people like the electoral college?

Because the Battle Ground States got more attention than the other states and it made them more important. And candidates spend a lot of time in battle ground states.

Explain the winner take all system?

If a candidate wins 51% in a state they get ALL of that states electoral votes.

What is the flaw in the winner takes all system?

It is Better to win a lot of states then to do really well in one state.

How is D.C. different?

It is different because they have no representatives in the house OR any senates. So they get the lowest amount of electoral votes possible. Which is 3.

Why did they create it?

It was a safety net for if people made bad decisions on who they voted for.

Why do we still use this system?

So that it would protect the smaller states and make them more relevant.

What does the person who wins the popular vote in one state go on to do?

The person who wins the popular vote in their state gets to choose who his electors are. The amount that he gets is determined on the number of electors the state that the person won has. These electors are likely to vote for the person who chose them but may vote for whoever they want.

Popular Vote

when the people vote