The United States' system of indirect democratic voting was created by the Founding Fathers as a compromise, a choice between allowing Congress to elect a president or by giving potentially uninformed citizens the direct vote.
Two framers of the Constitution, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, opposed the popular vote for president. Madison wrote in Federalist Paper No. Hamilton considered how the "fears of tampering that could be introduced with direct voting" in an essay in Federalist Paper No. Federalist Papers Nos. With a primary source document, the first reading allows students to determine what the text says.
Their second reading is meant to figure out how the text works. The third and final reading is to analyze and compare the text. Comparing the changes to Article II through the 12th and 23rd Amendments would be part of the third reading.
Students should understand that the framers of the Constitution felt an Electoral College informed voters selected by states would answer these concerns and provided a framework for the Electoral College in Article II, paragraph 3 of the United States Constitution:. The first major "test" of this clause came with the election of Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr ran together, but they tied in the popular vote.
This election showed a defect in the original Article; two votes could be cast for candidates running on party tickets. That resulted in a tie between the two candidates from the most popular ticket.
Partisan political activity was causing a constitutional crisis. Burr claimed victory, but after several rounds and with an endorsement from Hamilton, congressional representatives chose Jefferson.
Students could discuss how Hamilton's choice may have contributed to his ongoing feud with Burr as well. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution was quickly proposed and approved with speed to correct the flaw. Students should pay close attention to the new wording that changed "two persons" to the respective offices "for President and Vice President":.
The new wording in the 12th Amendment requires that each elector cast separate and distinct votes for each office instead of two votes for president. Using the same provision in Article II, electors may not vote for candidates from their state—at least one of them must be from another state. If no candidate for president has a majority of the total votes, a quorum of the House of Representatives voting by states chooses the president.
Top Skip to main content. Biden Jr. Harris [D] V. Opponent: Michael R. Caucuses are local gatherings of voters who vote at the end of the meeting for a particular candidate. Then it moves to nominating conventions , during which political parties each select a nominee to unite behind. During a political party convention, each presidential nominee also announces a vice presidential running mate.
The candidates then campaign across the country to explain their views and plans to voters. They may also participate in debates with candidates from other parties. During the general election General Election: a final election for a political office with a limited list of candidates.
But the tally of those votes—the popular vote—does not determine the winner. Instead, presidential elections use the Electoral College. To win the election, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes. In the event no candidate receives a majority, the House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president. Summer of the year before an election through spring of the election year — Primary and caucus Caucus: a statewide meeting held by members of a political party to choose a presidential candidate to support.
January to June of election year — States and parties hold primaries Primary: an election held to determine which of a party's candidates will receive that party's nomination and be their sole candidate later in the general election. December — Electors Elector: a person who is certified to represent their state's vote in the Electoral College. For an in-depth look at the federal election process in the U. Before the general election, most candidates for president go through a series of state primaries and caucuses.
Though primaries and caucuses are run differently, they both serve the same purpose. Caucuses are private meetings run by political parties.
In most, participants divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support. Undecided voters form their own group. Each group gives speeches supporting its candidate and tries to get others to join its group. At the end, the number of voters in each group determines how many delegates each candidate has won.
During a closed primary or caucus, only voters registered with that party can take part and vote. Learn which states have which types of primaries. At stake in each primary or caucus is a certain number of delegates. First, the political parties in each State choose slates of potential electors sometime before the general election. Only four times in American history , , , and has a presidential candidate lost the popular vote but achieved the Electoral College majority, thereby assuming the presidency; in the last three such cases, no candidate polled an absolute majority of the popular vote.
Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts. The presidential elections of , , , and produced an Electoral College winner who did not receive the most votes in the general election. There is no process to win superdelegates, since they can vote for whomever they please.
A candidate needs to win a simple majority of total delegates to earn the Democratic nomination. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.
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