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Who Will Be the 43rd President?

The debate continues over who will be President, Republican George Bush or Democrat Al Gore. For the latest on the presidential situation, visit C-SPAN.

The Electoral College

Do you know what role the electoral college plays in the election? According to our Constitution, if neither candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the election is decided in the House of Representatives. This has occurred only twice throughout the history of the United States--in 1800 with the election of Jefferson and in 1824 with the election of John Quincy Adams.

One of the Constitutional compromises reached in 1787 dealt with electing the President. The reason we have an electoral college is due to the fact that the small states feared having no say in the presidential election. The deal worked out was that each state would have electors, equal to the amount of Representatives in the House and the number of Senators. This means at minimum each state has three votes, while large states like California have 54 out of 538. The magic number to win the presidential election is 270 votes. If the election must be decided by the House, a new vote is held with each state getting only one vote. The states decide who will receive their final vote based on the decision of the Representatives in their state. If the majority of Representatives choose one candidate, that candidate receives that state's vote.

Further Study

 The Candidates
The two candidates whose tallies are very close are George Bush and Al Gore. Learn more about these candidates at their official campaign web sites:

 The Electoral College
Find out more about the role of the electoral college and the role the House of Representatives could play in our activity, The House Decides, using a hypothetical scenario where Ralph Nader wins the popular vote in three states.

 Close Elections in History
Every vote counts, especially in some elections. For example, in 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the Presidency by a very close margin. A special committee had to decide the electoral college results and choose between Hayes and his competitor Tilden. At the following sites, you can find out about other votes that were decided by very small margins.

 
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