The Electoral College
"…the people of each State shall choose a number of persons as electors, equal to the number of senators and representatives of such State in the national government, who shall assemble within the State, and vote for some fit person as President."
--Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 68, 1788
Every four years on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December the members of the U. S. Electoral College meet to elect "some fit person" as the President of the United States. Discover the reasons the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College by visiting the National Archives and Records Administration website, The U. S. Electoral College, accessible through the EDSITEment-participating website, The Digital Classroom. Here you will find background information on how this voting body works, including the role the National Archives plays in the electoral voting procedure, and find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Electoral College.
This year's Electoral College vote will take place on December 18, 2000. Usually the choice is no surprise: the candidate who won the popular vote in November is generally the winner of the electoral vote as well. But that is not always the case. In the presidential election held in 1876, many newspapers across the country projected Democratic presidential nominee Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York as the winner over Republican nominee Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio. As the returns trickled in throughout the night, however, Republicans realized that although Hayes had lost a close race in the popular vote, he could still win the electoral vote and thus the presidency if he retained his lead in three states: South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. What followed was a an electoral college controversy that lasted for several months.
You can read more about the Hayes-Tilden crisis and how the dispute was finally resolved by visiting the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center's "Disputed Election" section, available through the EDSITEment-participating website, Presidential Speeches under the resources for Rutherford B. Hayes. Visit the EDSITEment-participating website, The American President, for further information on Rutherford B. Hayes and his campaign and election. Additional resources for Electoral College controversies include the Treasures of Congress site, "The House Selects a President" (available through The Digital Classroom), which explains what happened when no Electoral College majority emerged in the 1800 presidential election between Thomas Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr.
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