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American Government 8.2 Electing the President

Drill: Moderate & Twenty-fifth Amendment

Moderate: is a candidate that is reasonable and sensible

Twenty-fifth Amendment: established the order of succession to the presidency

LESSON OBJECTIVE

Students will be able to discuss the historical foundations of the Electoral College and its advantages and disadvantages by taking notes and completing the lesson’s assignment.

I. The Original System (pages 220–221)

A. Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution provided that the candidate receiving the majority of the electoral votes became the president.

B. The candidate with the second-highest number of votes became vice president.

II. The Electoral College System Today (pages 221–223)

A. The Electoral College is still used to choose the president and vice president.

B. The College uses a winner-takes-all system; (except Maine and Nebraska)

C. The Electoral College vote is cast in December.

III. Electoral College Issues (pages 223–226)

A. Critics say that the Electoral College’s winner-take-all system is unfair.

B. The Electoral College system also makes it possible for a candidate who loses the total popular vote to win the electoral vote.

C. A third-party candidate could win enough electoral votes to prevent either major party candidate from receiving a majority in the Electoral College.

D. When the House of Representatives must decide a presidential election, it may face several serious problems.

|1. B 6. D |Complete the sentence… |

|2. D 7. A |1. winner-take-all |

|3. A 8. C |2. major-party candidate |

|4. E 9. A |3. 26 |

|5. C 10. B |4. congressional districts |

| |5. federalism |

| |6. president-elect; 20 |

Summary: The political problem could result from the vice president being the person with the second-highest electoral vote is that the vice president may be a political foe of the president.

Homework: Electoral College & President-elect

Electoral College: elects the president and vice president.

President-elect: title for the new president until the inauguration, January 20th.

Name ____________________________________________Class ___________ Date______________

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American Government 8.2 Electing the President

Match each item in Column A with the items in Column B. Write the correct letters in the blanks.

|Column A |Column B |

|_____1. votes cast for presidential candidates |A. Rock the Vote |

|_____2. Electoral College |B. electoral votes |

|_____3. encourages young people to vote |C. Twelfth Amendment |

|_____4. opposed Democratic-Republicans |D. winner take all |

|_____5. separate ballots |E. Federalists |

In the blank at the left, write the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

_____6. George Washington was elected first president by

A. Congress. C. popular vote.

B. political parties. D. the Electoral College.

_____7. Since states began putting presidential candidates on the ballot, electors have been chosen by

A. popular vote. C. political parties.

B. the Electoral College. D. the president.

_____8. In modern-day elections, the president and vice president are elected by

A. popular vote. C. the Electoral College.

B. political parties. D. Congress.

_____9. The oath of office at the presidential inaugural ceremony is administered by the

A. chief justice. C. vice president.

B. outgoing president. D. Speaker of the House.

_____10. “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” was in this president’s inaugural address.

A. Abraham Lincoln C. Franklin D. Roosevelt

B. John F. Kennedy D. Bill Clinton

Use the information in your textbook to complete these sentences.

1. According to the ___________ weakness, the Electoral College system is unfair to those who vote for a losing candidate, since the party whose candidate receives the popular vote in any state wins all the state’s electoral votes.

2. In the Electoral College a third-party candidate could possibly win enough electoral votes to prevent either ________________ from receiving the majority of votes.

3. If the House votes for the president, and some members of the House favor a strong third-party candidate, it might be hard for any candidate to win __________________________% votes.

4. One proposed reform of the Electoral College system is to choose electors from __________________.

5. One problem with doing away with the Electoral College is that it would undermine _________________ because the states would lose their role in the choice of a president.

6. The new president, called the _______ until the inauguration, takes office at noon on January ______.

Summary:

What political problem could result from the vice president being the person with the second-highest electoral vote?

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