Have you ever wondered how the votes of the citizens impacted the way the Electoral College votes? Also how many of you knew that the founding fathers had a distrust U.S citizens? We will also explore the question of whether or not voters really decide, since the Electoral College makes the final decision.

First, we need to explore what the Electoral College is, and how it works. According to Dictionary, the Electoral College is a body of electors chosen by the voters in each state to elect the president and vice president of the United States. How does each state choose a body of electors, and when? Well according to the Articles of Confederation, we can find this out by looking at Article 2, section 1, clause 2. Inside of this section, it states that no Senator, nor Representative, nor a Person holding an office of Trust can be selected as an elector. Each state has to claim who they choose. Next, we will see what the qualification are regarding to be chosen as an elector for the Electoral College.

According to archives.gov, we found that each state’s required qualifications to be chosen as the elector for the Electoral College varies.   It is said that generally each party selects nominees for the elector position, or it goes to vote the each party’s central committee in each state. So how does an elector qualify to be selected by their party for this position? Each individual is usually chosen for their dedication or hard work that they put forth into helping their parties succeed. Once the parties select such individuals, it goes to a vote. However, these type of individuals can be the following: a state official, a person with an affiliation with the party or a party leader. Also, the person selected can be someone that is associated with the Presidential candidate. Next, we will explore when electors are chosen and situations where the candidate that received the majority vote did not win the election.

When it comes to selecting the next Presidential candidate that will be our new president, it makes sense for the electors of the Electoral College to be selected on the day of Election. So, now we know how and when electors are voted for the Electoral College. We also know that the Electoral College is a group selected and voted by both parties. But are we aware that even if a Presidential candidate who receives the majority vote by the people may not win the election? How is this possible? Why would a popular Presidential candidate not win the election? The answers to this lie within the situations of those candidates who have indeed had this happen to them.

According to the Presidential Election Facts, only four presidential candidates have won the popular vote but lost the election. The four candidates are the following: Andrew Jackson, Samuel Tilden, Grover Cleveland, and last but not least, Al Gore.  In Andrew Jackson’s case, he got the popular vote by the people, but won less than fifty percent of the electoral votes. Samuel Tilden’s case was similar except that he lost the election by two electoral votes. His opponent won 185 electoral votes, while he won only 184 electoral votes.

 Then we have Grover Cleveland, who also won the popular vote, but lost by only having 163 electoral votes compared to his opponent’s 233 Electoral College votes. Finally, we get to Al Gore who lost to George Bush. This was the most intense Electoral College election in the history of our nation. According to the Presidential Election Facts, “….U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount of ballots, giving Bush the state’s 25 electoral votes for a total of 271 to Al Gore’s 255.â€? We see how even though a candidate wins popular vote that he can lose the electoral vote which causes him to lose the election at hand. Now, we will explore how the votes of the citizens has impacted the way the Electoral College votes.

How do the votes of citizens impact the way the Electoral College has voted? According to the archives.gov, the popular votes by the U.S. citizens within each state is taken in consideration for the Electoral College to vote on the winning presidential nominee. Also according to the archive.gov, it states that only 48 out of the 50 states award electoral votes on a winner takes-all basis. So, basically the people of the U.S. vote for someone they want, only to have it left up to those in the Electoral College. Citizens’ votes can be meaningless when it comes to the Electoral College votes.

However, if a majority of citizens within every state votes for the same candidate then, yes, voters’ votes do impact the vote from the Electoral College. This also explains how the decision by voters is made in regards to the Electoral College’s final decision. Next, we will explore why the founding fathers held a distrust of U.S. citizens when it came to Presidential votes.

Did you know that our founding fathers held a distrust of us U.S. citizens in regards to the presidential votes? Why, and what did they do in regards to this distrust they felt against their own people? According to Synonym, in a democracy the citizens would be able to directly for the man they wanted to run as the next President of the United States. However, the founding fathers didn’t allow for this due to their mistrust, which is why they formed a republican government. This republican government that they formed would act as a safeguard. One such safeguard of this republican government that they formed so long ago was indeed the Electoral College.

The founding fears included the fear that citizens of a state would only elect a “favorite sonâ€? in other words someone who is only from their home state. This issue would then cause a problem for a consistent victory from a larger state. So, the founding fathers thought of the Electoral College to help ease this issue. The states were then allowed to select their own electors and also a certain number of electors within each state, which would then allow each state to determine who they select as president. The other safeguards that the founding fathers created besides the republican government and Electoral College were the checks and balances, the senate, and the courts.  This now leads us to explore the possibilities of their being a tie vote when it comes to the Electoral College.

What happens if there is a tie vote within the Electoral College? How do we proceed in electing the next presidential candidate if this occurs? Has a tie within the Electoral College ever happen? These questions are indeed very important for citizens to know.  If there is indeed a tie within the Electoral College, it is then up to the House of Representatives to choose the next President of the United States. In order for there to be a tie each of the two candidates would need to win 269 Electoral College votes. If this does happen then, the House of Representatives would have to decide. If it goes to the House of Representatives, then each state only gets one vote. According to slate.com, if this situation were to occur, and if there were more Republicans than Democrats within the House of Representatives, then it is more likely that the Republican presidential candidate would win the Presidential seat. However, if this were opposite, then the Democratic presidential candidate would win the Presidential seat.

This would explain how the President is chosen if there was a tie in the Electoral College vote, but now who selects the vice president of the United States, and how? Well, the vote for Vice President would then go to the Senate. According to slate.com, this vote by the Senate is a simple one. If the Senate is mostly Democratic, then the Vice President would be a Democrat even if the President of the United States happens to be a Republican. However, if the President were a Democrat and the Senate were Republicans than the people of the United States would see a Republican as a Vice President. This would then create the most unusual and highly unique Presidential Election ever.

The founding fathers were an aristocratic bunch according to the Minn Post. It states that the fathers saw the democracy as a “mob ruleâ€?.  Our constitution says “We the peopleâ€? and yet it isn’t we the people who get to directly vote for the person we want as our next president. But, rather it is up to a highly selected group of individuals who hold a state office, or favor with their party, or they are a party leader. So, it is really not the people of the United Stated voting for the President, but rather the people within the two parties who choose the individuals they want to serve as electors. It is then these electors who decide the final fate of the presidential race. Who will win, even if they won popular vote would be determined yet by the electors of the Electoral College.

Overall, we have explored many topic covering what the Electoral College is, how it runs, how and if voters impact the Electoral College votes, as well as the founding fathers’ distrust of their citizens in regards to voting. We have also found that is not up to voters but up to the electors in deciding who will win the presidential race. However, we learned that if there was a possibility of a tie, then the decision goes to the House of Representatives which represent one vote from each state for the President, and the Senate chooses the Vice President of the United States. All in all, the Electoral College impacts the way we vote and who will run our country.