Name______Date______Period______

Figuring Out the ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Directions: In the map above, some of the states are missing the number of electoral votes they have. Solve the problems below, and then fill in the map above with your answers.

Formula: # of Representatives + # of Senators = # of Electors

Pennsylvania has 19 Representatives and 2 Senators. So Pennsylvania has ______Electors.

California has 53 Representatives and 2 Senators. So California has ______Electors.

Wyoming has 1 Representative and 2 Senators. So Wyoming has ______Electors.

Florida has 25 Representatives and ______Senators. So Florida has ______Electors.

Illinois has ______Representatives and ______Senators. So Illinois has __21__ Electors.

Texas has ______Representatives and ______Senators. So Texas has __34__ Electors.

Let’s do the math. . .

The TOTAL number of ELECTORS in the Electoral College is equal to the number of Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives (______) PLUS the number of Senators in the U.S. Senate (______) PLUS 3 Electors for Washington D.C.

SO…______+ ______+ ______= ______Electors.

RepresentativesSenatorsD.C. ElectorsTOTAL

In order to WIN a Presidential election, you have to get a SIMPLE MAJORITY of the total number of votes:

What is 538 / 2?538 / 2 = ______

So if there is a TIE, then the Democratic candidate would have ______Electors and the Republican candidate would have ______Electors. The election would then be thrown into the House of Representatives where each state delegation would get ONE vote. The Senate would select the Vice-President. YES, it is possible that we could some day get a Republican President and a Democratic Vice-President (or vice-versa)!

Hence, in order to have a MAJORITY of the Electoral votes, one candidate would need to have ______Electoral votes. Therefore, a presidential candidate needs ______Electoral votes in order to win an election.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT A CANDIDATE CAN WIN THE POPULAR VOTE AND NOT WIN THE MAJORITY in the ELECTORAL COLLEGE? You do the math:

In the 2000 Election:

George W. Bush (R) got 50,456,062 popular votes

Albert Gore, Jr. (D) got 50,996,582 popular votes

Who won the popular vote? ______

Let’s pretend Florida’s popular election numbers haven’t come in yet. Florida has 25* Electoral votes (* due to the 2000 Census). So at this point, the Electoral vote numbers are as follows:

BUSH: 246 Electoral votes

GORE: 266 Electoral votes

If Al Gore wins the popular election in Florida, the Electoral votes will be as follows:

BUSH: ______Electoral votes

GORE: ______Electoral votes

If George Bush wins the popular election in Florida, the Electoral votes will be as follows:

BUSH: ______Electoral votes

GORE: ______Electoral votes

Hence, in this case, whoever wins Florida wins the Presidency. If you notice, the Electoral votes in this example only add up to 537. This is because Gore won DC, but one of the DC Electors did not cast a vote.