Electoral+College

__ How Many Votes do States Get? __
 * Each State is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives.
 * A State's Congressional delegation is determined by the State's population.

__ Who Selects the Electors? __
 * Generally, the political parties nominate electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee in each State.
 * Electors are often selected to recognize their service and dedication to their political party. They may be State-elected officials, party leaders, or persons who have a personal or political affiliation with the Presidential candidate.

__What are the qualifications to be an elector?__ (The U.S. Constitution contains very few provisions relating to the qualifications of electors.)
 * Article II, section 1, clause 2 provides that no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. (As a historical matter, the 14th Amendment provides that State officials who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies are disqualified from serving as electors. This prohibition relates to the post-Civil War era.)

__Must electors vote for the candidate who won their State's popular vote?__
 * There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States.
 * Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories—electors **bound by State law** and those **bound by pledges to political parties**.
 * Today, it is rare for electors to disregard the popular vote by casting their electoral vote for someone other than their party's candidate. ( Electors generally hold a leadership position in their party or were chosen to recognize years of loyal service to the party. Throughout our history as a nation, more than 99 percent of electors have voted as pledged. No elector has ever been prosecuted for failing to vote as pledged.)

[|Election results]  [|Year of statehood]

What was the original purpose of the electoral college? 1.The first purpose was to create a buffer between population and the selection of a President. 2.The second as part of the structure of the government that gave extra power to the smaller states [|Creation of the electoral college] Is this still relevant today? Why or why not?