{ "id": "RL32611", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL32611", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 461257, "date": "2017-05-15", "retrieved": "2017-08-22T14:48:05.834458", "title": "The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections", "summary": "When Americans vote for a President and Vice President, they are actually choosing presidential electors, known collectively as the electoral college. It is these officials who choose the President and Vice President of the United States. The complex elements comprising the electoral college system are responsible for election of the President and Vice President.\nThe 2016 presidential contest was noteworthy for the first simultaneous occurrence in presidential election history of four rarely occurring electoral college eventualities. These included (1) the election of a President and Vice President who received fewer popular votes than their major opponents; (2) the actions of seven \u201cfaithless electors,\u201d who voted for candidates other than those to whom they were pledged; (3) the split allocation of electoral votes in Maine, which uses the district system to allocate electors; and (4) objections to electoral votes at the joint session of Congress to count the votes. These events are examined in detail in the body of this report.\nArticle II, Section 1 of the Constitution, as modified in 1804 by the Twelfth Amendment, sets the requirements for election of the President and Vice President. It authorizes each state to appoint, by whatever means the legislature chooses, a number of electors equal to the combined total of its Senate and House of Representatives delegations, for a contemporary total of 538, including 3 electors for the District of Columbia. For over 150 years, the states have universally required that electors be chosen by the voters. Anyone may serve as an elector, except Members of Congress and persons holding offices of \u201cTrust or Profit\u201d under the Constitution.\nEvery presidential election year, political parties and independent candidacies nominate their national candidates for President and Vice President. In each state where they are entitled to be on the ballot, they also nominate a group (a \u201cslate\u201d or \u201cticket\u201d) of candidates for the office of elector that is equal in number to the electoral votes to which the state is entitled.\nOn election day, Tuesday after the first Monday in November (November 3 in 2020), when voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidates, they are actually voting for the slate of electors in their state pledged to those candidates. In 48 states and the District of Columbia, the entire slate of electors winning the most popular votes in the state is elected, a practice known as \u201cwinner-take-all\u201d or \u201cthe general ticket\u201d system. Maine and Nebraska use an alternative method, the \u201cdistrict system,\u201d which awards two electors to the popular vote winners statewide, and one to the popular vote winners in each congressional district.\nElectors assemble in their respective states on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December (December 14 in 2020). They are expected, but not constitutionally bound, to vote for the candidates they represent. The electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President, after which the electoral college ceases to exist until the next presidential election.\nState electoral vote results are reported to Congress and other designated authorities; they are then counted and declared at a joint session of Congress held on January 6 of the year after the election; Congress may, however, change this date by joint resolution. A majority of electoral votes (currently 270 of 538) is required to win, but the results submitted by any state are open to challenge at the joint session, as provided by law.\nPast proposals for change by constitutional amendment have included various reform options and direct popular election, which would eliminate the electoral college system, but no substantive action on this issue has been taken in Congress for more than 20 years. At present, however, a non-governmental organization, the National Popular Vote (NPV) campaign, proposes to reform the electoral college by action taken at the state level through an interstate compact; 10 states and the District of Columbia have approved the NPV compact to date.\nFor further information on contemporary proposals to reform or eliminate the electoral college, please consult CRS Report R43824, Electoral College Reform: Contemporary Issues for Congress, and CRS Report R43823, The National Popular Vote Initiative: Direct Election of the President by Interstate Compact.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32611", "sha1": "5d8bc2395746f006fa11fbfdb384781d33352369", "filename": "files/20170515_RL32611_5d8bc2395746f006fa11fbfdb384781d33352369.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=RL/html/RL32611_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170515_RL32611_images_1dd427efc95334d0fb160bc5fb0e016049a9707c.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32611", "sha1": "eeccc31b1d385918cdb91bd7f373870e5f446d82", "filename": "files/20170515_RL32611_eeccc31b1d385918cdb91bd7f373870e5f446d82.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4833, "name": "Census, Redistricting, Voting, & Elections" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 451705, "date": "2016-04-13", "retrieved": "2016-11-28T22:22:07.468594", "title": "The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections", "summary": "When Americans vote for a President and Vice President, they are actually choosing presidential electors, known collectively as the electoral college. It is these officials who choose the President and Vice President of the United States. The complex elements comprising the electoral college system are responsible for one of the most important processes of the American political and constitutional system: election of the President and Vice President. A failure to elect a President, or worse, the choice of a chief executive whose legitimacy might be open to question, could precipitate a constitutional crisis that would require prompt, judicious, and well-informed action by Congress.\nArticle II, Section 1 of the Constitution, as amended in 1804 by the Twelfth Amendment, sets the requirements for election of the President and Vice President. It authorizes each state to appoint, by whatever means the legislature chooses, a number of electors equal to the combined total of its Senate and House of Representatives delegations, for a contemporary total of 538, including 3 electors for the District of Columbia. Since the Civil War, the states have universally provided for popular election of the presidential electors. Anyone may serve as an elector, except Members of Congress and persons holding offices of \u201cTrust or Profit\u201d under the Constitution. Every presidential election year, political parties and other political groups nominate their national candidates for President and Vice President. In each state where they are entitled to be on the ballot, they also nominate a group (a \u201cslate\u201d or \u201cticket\u201d) of candidates for the office of elector equal in number to the electoral votes to which the state is entitled and who are committed to the presidential and vice presidential candidates they were nominated to support.\nOn election day, Tuesday after the first Monday in November (November 8 in 2016), voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidates for President and Vice President. They are actually voting for the slate of electors in their state pledged to those candidates. In 48 states and the District of Columbia, the entire slate of electors winning the most popular votes in the state is elected, a practice known as \u201cwinner-take-all\u201d or \u201cthe general ticket\u201d system. Maine and Nebraska use an alternative method, the \u201cdistrict system,\u201d which awards two electors to the popular vote winners statewide, and one to the popular vote winners in each congressional district. Electors assemble in their respective states on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December (December 19 in 2016). They are expected, but not constitutionally bound, to vote for the candidates they represent. The electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President, after which the electoral college ceases to exist until the next presidential election. State electoral vote results are reported to Congress and other designated authorities; they are then counted and declared at a joint session of Congress held on January 6 of the year after the election; Congress may, however, change this date by joint resolution. A majority of electoral votes (currently 270 of 538) is required to win, but the results submitted by any state are open to challenge at the joint session, as provided by law.\nPast proposals for change by constitutional amendment have included various reform options and direct popular election, which would eliminate the electoral college system, but no substantive action on this issue has been taken in Congress for more than 20 years. At present, however, a non-governmental organization, the National Popular Vote (NPV) campaign, proposes to reform the electoral college by action taken at the state level through an interstate compact; 10 states and the District of Columbia have approved the NPV compact to date. \nFor further information on contemporary proposals to reform or eliminate the electoral college, please consult CRS Report R43824, Electoral College Reform: Contemporary Issues for Congress, by Thomas H. Neale, and CRS Report R43823, The National Popular Vote Initiative: Direct Election of the President by Interstate Compact, by Thomas H. Neale and Andrew Nolan.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32611", "sha1": "08cfb9fb753f4382821db3886ef37246f3369e56", "filename": "files/20160413_RL32611_08cfb9fb753f4382821db3886ef37246f3369e56.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32611", "sha1": "479866ffb1cc5ad14b5bfa8d4003e002d6db8ba9", "filename": "files/20160413_RL32611_479866ffb1cc5ad14b5bfa8d4003e002d6db8ba9.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4833, "name": "Census, Redistricting, Voting, & Elections" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 413298, "date": "2012-10-22", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T21:39:16.994393", "title": "The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections", "summary": "When Americans vote for President and Vice President, they are actually choosing presidential electors, known collectively as the electoral college. It is these officials who choose the President and Vice President of the United States. The complex elements comprising the electoral college system are responsible for one of the most important processes of the American political and constitutional system: 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.\nArticle II, Section 1 of the Constitution, as amended in 1804 by the 12th Amendment, sets forth the requirements for election of the President and Vice President. It authorizes each state to appoint, by whatever means the legislature chooses, a number of electors equal to the combined total of its Senate and House of Representatives delegations, for a contemporary total of 538, including three electors for the District of Columbia. Since the Civil War, the states have universally provided for popular election of the presidential electors. Anyone may serve as an elector, except Members of Congress and persons holding offices of \u201cTrust or Profit\u201d under the Constitution. In each presidential election year, the political parties and other groups that have secured a place on the ballot in each state nominate a \u201cslate\u201d or \u201cticket\u201d of candidates for elector.\nWhen voters cast a single vote for their favored candidates on general election day, Tuesday after the first Monday in November (November 6 in 2012), they are actually voting for the slate of electors pledged to those candidates. The entire slate of electors winning the most popular votes in the state is elected, a practice known as winner-take-all, or the general ticket system. Maine and Nebraska use an alternative method, the district plan, which awards two electors to the popular vote winners statewide, and one to the popular vote winners in each congressional district. Electors assemble in their respective states on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December (December 17 in 2012). 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 until the next presidential election. State electoral vote results are reported to Congress and are counted and declared at a joint session of Congress, usually held on January 6 of the year succeeding the election, a date that may be altered by legislation. Since January 6 falls on a Sunday in 2013, Congress will likely set another date for the joint session in 2013, possibly January 8. A majority of electoral votes (currently 270 of 538) is required to win, but the results submitted by any state are open to challenge at the joint session, as provided by law.\nPast proposals for change by constitutional amendment have included various reform options and direct popular election, which would eliminate the electoral college system, but no substantive action on this issue has been taken in Congress for more than 20 years. At present, however, a non-governmental organization, the National Popular Vote (NPV) campaign, proposes to reform the electoral college by action taken at the state level; eight states and the District of Columbia have approved the NPV compact to date. \nFor further information on contemporary proposals to reform or eliminate the electoral college, please consult CRS Report R42139, Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections, by Kevin J. Coleman, R. Sam Garrett, and Thomas H. Neale.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32611", "sha1": "4acb1fbb75d0b83c435011c6eab7e63374989f49", "filename": "files/20121022_RL32611_4acb1fbb75d0b83c435011c6eab7e63374989f49.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32611", "sha1": "38cda17886738b367f973af1f4b15dcaf6fe9298", "filename": "files/20121022_RL32611_38cda17886738b367f973af1f4b15dcaf6fe9298.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3427, "name": "Voting and Elections" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809597/", "id": "RL32611_2008Oct08", "date": "2008-10-08", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20081008_RL32611_8a73c17171e038565d86dfaba2ee1ee38a40b900.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20081008_RL32611_8a73c17171e038565d86dfaba2ee1ee38a40b900.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807910/", "id": "RL32611_2004Nov05", "date": "2004-11-05", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20041105_RL32611_8c2aaaf64a64a41903ddaa08a41602a90ed65db7.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20041105_RL32611_8c2aaaf64a64a41903ddaa08a41602a90ed65db7.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs5857/", "id": "RL32611 2004-09-28", "date": "2004-09-28", "retrieved": "2005-06-11T06:12:15", "title": "The Electoral College: How it Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections", "summary": "The Constitution assigns each state a number of electors equal to the combined total of the state\u2019s Senate and House of Representatives delegations; at present, the number of electors per state ranges from three to 55, for a total of 538. This report discuses constitutional origins, the electoral college today and explains the allocation of electors and electoral votes.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20040928_RL32611_d8b7c11fdf6f3bcd18a04a04e7af15dc05389d7d.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20040928_RL32611_d8b7c11fdf6f3bcd18a04a04e7af15dc05389d7d.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Elections", "name": "Elections" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Presidential elections", "name": "Presidential elections" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Electoral college", "name": "Electoral college" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Presidents", "name": "Presidents" } ] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Constitutional Questions" ] }