Your paper should include a comprehensive overview of the Electoral College, explaining how the process works to elect the President and Vice President.
Your paper should consist of AT LEAST 1,500 WORDS of substantive academic writing, and should include a discussion of at least the following:
The reasons why that the framers of the U.S. Constitution created the Electoral College, instead of having a direct nationwide popular vote election of the President. In addressing this issue, you should also discuss some of ideas that were debated and considered during the Constitutional Convention for selecting the nation’s Chief Executive.
The total number of Electoral College votes throughout the nation, and how many electoral votes are required by a candidate in order to be elected President.
Provide an explanation of how these electors are divided, or apportioned, among the states. For instance, how many electors are apportioned to each state, and what is the method used for apportioning these electors? As a part of your response, please discuss how the number of each state’s electors are related to a state’s representation in the U.S. Congress – in terms of voting members of the U.S. House and Senate.
Also, who are the actual “electors” and how are they selected in each of the states prior to a Presidential election?
Discuss in some detail the actual Electoral College process. For instance, what is the significance of the November General Election? Also, what happens after the November General Election, leading up to Inaugural Day? Your response should include an explanation of what happens in each of the state capitols in mid-December (including the significance of those “Certificates of Ascertainment”), and during a joint session of Congress in early January following the November General election.
Discuss arguments in support of maintaining the current Electoral College process, as well as arguments against the current process (including reasons why the process should be changed). In addressing this topic, you should also discuss some ideas that have been presented and debated over the years for reforming the Electoral College process.