Electing the President: The American Electoral College System
By Larry Gann

Overview

The electoral college system is one of the key elements in choosing our president, yet the student rarely understands it.  This lesson seeks to fill the void in knowledge as well as seeks to answer the question of value in modern America. This lesson could be used as a primary lesson in a discussion of the electoral college itself, or as an introductory lesson to presidential elections.  The lesson is suitable for all high school grade levels.

Objectives

Students will:

  • Comprehend the philosophies and ideologies involved in the creation of the electoral college system.
  • Recall the events of the election of 1800 that brought about the 12th Amendment.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the basic workings of the electoral college system.
  • Calculate the number of electoral votes in selected states.
  • Interpret and analyze the need for an electoral college in today's political society.
  • Evaluate the possibility of alteration or abolishment of the electoral college system.
  • Manipulate an interactive website.

Time Required

The lesson should require 2 days of 90-minute blocks.

Materials Needed

  • American government or American history textbook
  • Internet access
  • United States map
  • Duplicating materials

Initial Motivation

Display on overhead or blackboard the results of the elections of 1824, 1876, and 1888.  Be sure to show the popular vote totals, then initiate a class discussion on why the winner in each election won despite having fewer popular votes than his opponent had.  The election results are contained in the chart below:  (Teacher's Note:  These election figures were obtained from the Historical Statistics of the United States, a U.S. federal government publication.  Popular vote numbers may differ from other sources.)
 

Year

Candidates

Party

Electoral Vote

Popular Vote

1824

John Quincy Adams

Democratic-Republican

84

108,740
 

Andrew Jackson

Democratic-Republican

99

153,544
 

William H. Crawford

Democratic-Republican

41

46,618
 

Henry Clay

Democratic-Republican

37

47,136

1876

Rutherford B. Hayes

Republican

185

4,036,572
 

Samuel J. Tilden

Democrat

184

4,284,020
 

Peter Cooper

Greenback

0

81,737

1888

Benjamin Harrison

Republican

233

5,447,129
 

Grover Cleveland

Democrat

168

5,537,857
 

Clinton B. Fisk

Prohibition

0

249,506
 

Alson J. Streeter

Union Labor

0

146,935

Procedures

1.  History and Philosophy of the Electoral College.

The teacher should access the site at: http://www.fec.gov/pdf/eleccoll.pdf  
Part of the document ("The Electoral College") should be downloaded for distribution to students. Please note that an Acrobat Reader is necessary to view this site.  Using the first two pages of the 20 page article by William Kimberling, divide the class into four groups and assign each group one of the four ideas proposed for choosing the president as outlined on page 2.  The group should read and comprehend the proposal in light of the four characteristics of the new nation as outlined at the beginning of the article.  Each group should present a 5-10 minute oral presentation clearly outlining their proposal and showing how it relates to one or more characteristics of the new nation. The remainder of this article could be used for enrichment activities for advanced and politically oriented students.

2.  How the Electoral College Works

The teacher should access the site at:  http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecworks.htm
This document ("How the Electoral College Works") should be downloaded for distribution to students. This should be handed out to students along with the word puzzle and questions included with this lesson plan.  Students should complete the puzzle by locating answers in the handout.  Following appropriate time for completion, teacher should lead discussion on "How the Electoral College Works."  Emphasis should be given by the teacher not only to the mechanics involved but also to the reasons behind some of the formalities.  Teacher should also take a brief time (5-10 minutes or so) to outline the changes brought about through the 12th Amendment as a result of the election of 1800. A full coverage of this is available on page 5 of the Kimberling document used in Activity 1.

(Teacher's Note:   In that I teach on block scheduling of 90-minute classes, this would be an appropriate point for closure and review for the day.)

3.  Voting Blocks

The teacher should access the site at:  http://www.usis-israel.org.il/publish/elections/colstate.htm
Discuss with students strategies used by candidates in trying to obtain blocks of states as well as those states with significant numbers of electoral votes. These blocks might include the "solid South", the Midwest, New England, or the like. It is always enlightening for students to discover how few states must actually be won in order for a candidate to win the election. 

4.  Campaign strategy building 

The teacher should access the site at:  http://www.bga.com/~jnhtx/ec/ec.html
At this great interactive site complete with "Hail to the Chief," students can plot their own strategy for the election of 2000 by following directions provided at the site. The students may place states, at their preference, in the Democratic, Republican, or Independent column and immediately calculate and see the results. Students may also view results of the elections of 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996, as well as figuratively altering the results in various states to change the outcome of the particular election. This could open the door to teacher follow-up on blocks of states and states with high electoral vote numbers. This could be highly informative as well as entertaining for the student.

Teachers might also use the site at:  http://www.lib.virginia.edu/gic/elections/index.html 
This site allows a graphic and colorful comparative study of the popular and electoral votes of presidential elections since 1860. This could be used for a more in-depth study or for enrichment activities

5.  Problems and Evaluation of the Electoral College

The teacher should access the site at:  http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/side/elecollg.html 
Divide the class into two groups. Ask one group to determine the advantages and strengths of the electoral college.  Ask the other group to determine the disadvantages and weaknesses. Information on this topic is found on pages 3 and 4 of the accessed document. After each member has contributed to the group list, the groups should discuss decisions regarding the reform or abolishment of the system. Conclusions should then be shared between the two groups and the activity could conclude with a vote of the class regarding:

  • retention of the present system
  • abolishment of the system
  • reform of the system.

Obviously, reform of the system should be based on specifics as determined by the class.

Assessment

  • Class participation in activities and group work should be observed and noted by the teacher.
  • The word puzzle could be taken up and graded for evaluation.
  • A short answer test would check the components of  the electoral system today. Special consideration should be given to matters affecting the home state of the students.
  • Essay test on the components, history, advantages, problems, or any specific area of the electoral college would demonstrate in-depth comprehension. Again, where possible, special attention should be given to local state situations, such as the number of electors held by the home state.

Additional Resources

Use of the class text would be helpful to the teacher as well as the student with particular focus on Article II of the Constitution and the 12th amendment. In  addition, there are a number of other websites which may provide additional information at the discretion of the teacher. Some additional sites  with possible areas of emphasis are

Historical background:  http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/ec-artcl.html
Simple historical with map:  http://www.uky.edu/LCC/HIS/101/electoral.html
Problems with the system:  http://www.wikman.com/eric/electoralcollege.html
Direct election, anybody?  http://www.avagara.com/politics_eczine/ec_qa/#DIRECT
Problems with runoffs:  http://www.avagara.com/politics_eczine/ec-qa/#RUNOFF
The electoral college:  http://www.usis-israel.org.il/publish/elections/colintro.htm

Interdisciplinary Links

  • Simple mathematics could be involved in calculating vote totals, percentages, and other items.
  • Science could investigate the role of electronic media in questioning if the speed of technology has an effect on the outcome of the election.
  • American literature could focus on the makeup of early America reflected not only in literary efforts, but also in the electoral college.
  • Numerous geographic opportunities abound for more basic studies of recognizing and locating the states, as well as studies regarding various sections of the country.

Additional Activities

Click here to go to a crossword puzzle with the Electoral College Theme.

Larry Gann teaches at Clinton High School in Tennessee.