Introduction
Introduction
In this webquest, you will learn why the Electoral College was adopted as the method of electing the United States in America, and how it works. You will then analyze the Electoral College's properties, and from there create a list of its strengths and weaknesses.Finally, you will write a paragraph indicating whether or not the Electoral College does a good job of protecting and advocating for the rights of racial minorities in the United States.
Used and modified with permission by Bryan Fischbein, UCSD
Task
Students will:
1. Research structure of the Electoral College,
2. List the pros and cons of the Electoral College, and
3. Decide whether or not it does a good job of protecting and advocating for the rights of racial minorities in the United States.
Process
To learn about the Electoral College, start with the Constitution.
Article II, Section 1 deals with the Electoral College. Read it at https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleii and the beginning of the 12th Amendment at https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxii. The 23rd Amendment (not linked here) gives Washington, D.C. 3 Electoral College Electors.
Then, to really understand it, read a summary about the Electoral College at https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html.
Answer the questions on your handout. They are also at the bottom of this page.
1. Is the Electoral College a place or a process?
2. What is the purpose of the Electoral College?
3. How many Electors are there?
4. How many Electoral College votes does it take to become president?
5. Who chooses the Electors in the Electoral College?
6. What are the qualifications to be an Elector? Can a Senator be an Elector?
7. Are Electors they likely to represent minorities? Why or why not? Support (back up) your response with at least 2 facts. Write at least 2 COMPLETE sentences.
Read through this Pew Research Institute page starting at the paragraph beginning: "A quick Electoral College refresher: The 538 electors allocated (mainly by population) among the 50..." http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/12/20/why-electoral-college-landslides-are-easier-to-win-than-popular-vote-ones/
8. What is a plurality winner-take-all system? In this system, can a candidate the received less than half of the votes receive electors? How many of the electors do they get?
9. How many states have plurality winner-take-all system?
Scroll down to the paragraph starting "Many of the elections with the most-inflated electoral votes..."
10. Rewrite this paragraph in your own words. Then, draw a picture that shows the main idea of the paragraph.
11. What is a "faithless elector"? Which election set a record high for the number of faithless electors?
12. What are the two most recent elections where the President got the majority of the Electoral votes but NOT the majority of the popular vote? Look at http://www.270towin.com/