Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination ...

thought to merely rubber stamp the results obtained on Election Day. However, as my research progressed, I quickly found that presidential electors are like snowflakes—no two are exactly alike. They are selected in different ways, speak with different voices, and may have views that differ substantially from those of the candidates on their parties’ tickets. Thus, I found that I had unearthed a topic worth investigating much more deeply, and consequently my research has evolved beyond mere description to include explanation, prediction, and ultimately prescription. It is my hope to shed light on these important players and sound a warning bell to those interested in the sanctity of the presidential selection process. This call is issued to both proponents and opponents of the Electoral College. In short, my aim is not to abolish the Electoral College, but to shine a light on little-known events that occur every four years and that have important implications for the presidential selection process.

The Basics of the Electoral College

The Electoral College represents one of many compromises in the U.S. federal system. After a great deal of debate, delegates at the Constitutional Convention settled upon the indirect election of the president through a body of electors. The number of electors a state receives corresponds to the number of that state’s representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Twenty-third Amendment provided that the District of Columbia would have representation in the Electoral College (not to exceed that of the least populous state). Today, there are 538 electoral votes (100 corresponding to the Senate, 435 corresponding to the House, and 3 for the District of Columbia). Basing the distribution of electoral votes on congressional representation signified a compromise between popular and federal governance. The pair of candidates that receives a majority of electoral votes (270) is selected to be president and vice president.

The Constitution provides that the Electoral College shall not convene in any one location. Instead, electors meet within their respective states. The thought was that this would prevent more heavily populated