Thomas H. Neale
Specialist in American National Government
When Americans vote in presidential elections, they actually vote for electors, known collectively as the electoral college. These electors, chosen by the people, elect the President and Vice President. The Constitution assigns each state a number of electors equal to the combined total of its Senate and House of Representatives delegations, for a total of 538, including three electors for the District of Columbia. Anyone may serve as an elector, except Members of Congress, and persons holding offices of "Trust or Profit" under the Constitution. In each presidential election year, a slate or ticket of candidates for elector is nominated by political parties and other groups in each state. In November (November 4 in 2008), citizens cast one vote for the entire slate of electors pledged to their favored candidates. All the electors of the slate winning the most popular votes in the state are elected, except in Maine and Nebraska, which use the district system. The district system awards two electors on an at-large basis, and one in each congressional district. Electors assemble in their respective states on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December (December 15 in 2008). They are expected to vote for the candidates they represent. Separate ballots are cast for President and Vice President, after which the electoral college ceases to exist for another four years. The electoral vote results are counted and declared at a joint session of Congress, usually held on January 6 of the year succeeding the election, but alterable by legislation. For the 2008 election only, Congress set January 8, 2009, as the date on which the joint session would be held. A majority of electoral votes (currently 270 of 538) is required to win. For information on contemporary proposals to reform or eliminate the electoral college, please consult CRS Report R40895, Electoral College Reform: 111th Congress Proposals and Other Current Developments, by Thomas H. Neale.
The complex elements comprising the electoral college system are responsible for one of the most important state functions in the American political and constitutional system: the election of the President and Vice President. A failure to elect, or worse, the choice of a chief executive whose legitimacy might be open to question, could precipitate a profound constitutional crisis that would require prompt, judicious and well-informed action by Congress.
Date of Report: March 24, 2010
Number of Pages: 24
Order Number: RL32611
Price: $29.95
Document available electronically as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail congress@pennyhill.com or call us at 301-253-0881.
Posts
