The Electoral College
Established in Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President of the United States. Each state has as many “electors” in the Electoral College as it has Representatives and Senators in the United States Congress. The District of Columbia has had three electors since the 23rd Amendment was ratified in 1961.When voters go to the polls in a Presidential election, they actually are voting for the slate of electors vowing to cast their ballots for that ticket in the Electoral College. Most states require that all electoral votes go to the candidate who receives the majority in that state.1
Originally, the Electoral College provided the Constitutional Convention with a compromise between the popular election of the President and Congressional selection. The 12th Amendment—ratified in 1804—changed the original process, allowing for separate ballots and contingency elections for determining the President and Vice President.
There have been other attempts to change the system, particularly after cases in which a candidate wins the popular vote, but loses in the Electoral College.2 The closest Congress has come to amending the Electoral College since 1804 was during the 91st Congress (1969–1971). H.J. Res. 681 proposed the direct election of a President and Vice President, requiring a run off when no candidate received more than 40 percent of the vote. The resolution passed the House in 1969, but failed to pass the Senate.3
Procedure
After the popular vote of each state is determined, the winning slate of electors meet in the state capital and cast two ballots—one for Vice President and one for President—with both individuals from different states. Very rarely have electors voted for someone other than for whom they pledged. “Faithless Electors” have never decided a Presidency.4
Since the mid-20th century, on January 6 at 1:00 pm before a Joint Session of Congress, the Vice President opens the votes from each state in alphabetical order.5 He passes the votes to four tellers—two from the House and two from the Senate—who announce the results. House tellers include one Representative from each party and are appointed by the Speaker. At the end of the count, the Vice President then declares the name of the next President.6
During the Joint Session, Members of Congress may object to individual electoral votes or to state returns as a whole. An objection must be declared in writing and signed by one Representative and one Senator. In the case of an objection, the Joint Session recesses and each chamber considers the objection separately in a session which cannot last more than two hours with each Member speaking for no more than five minutes. After each house votes on whether or not to accept the objection, the Joint Session reconvenes and both chambers disclose their decisions. If they agree to the objection, the votes in question are not counted. If either chamber does not agree with the objection, the votes are counted.7
Contingent Elections
In the case of an Electoral College deadlock or if no candidate receives the majority of votes, a “contingent election” is held. The election of the President goes to the House of Representatives. Each state delegation casts one vote for one of the top three contenders to determine a winner.
Not anticipating the development of a two-party system, the Framers believed that electors would cast votes for a large range of candidates from various states and that nearly every election would go to the House of Representatives for a final decision.8 However, only two Presidential elections have been decided in the House. In 1800, members of the same campaign ticket, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, received the same number of votes in the Electoral College. The House of Representatives eventually selected Thomas Jefferson, but the election inspired the 12th Amendment reforms. In 1824, no candidate among the three leading contenders—Senator Andrew Jackson, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford—received a majority of electoral votes. Although Jackson won the most popular votes, the House selected Adams as the winner.