Presidential Electoral College Process PDF

Name:________________________ Date: ________________ PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL COLLEGE PROCESS READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGE The United States holds a presidential election every...

Name:________________________ Date: ________________ PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL COLLEGE PROCESS READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGE The United States holds a presidential election every ©The Little Ladybug Shop four years to choose its leader. However, unlike other elections, where the winner is decided by si mply counting who gets the most votes, the presidential election uses a unique Electoral College system. What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a group of people called electors. Each state chooses these electors, who vote for the president and vice president. There are 538 electors in total, representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C. How Does It Work? When people vote in the presidential election, they are not directly voting for the candidates themselves. Instead, they are voting for a group of electors who have promised to vote for those candidates. Each state has a certain number of electors based on its population. For example, big states like Cali fornia and Texas have more electors, while smaller states like Vermont and Wyoming have fewer. To win the presidency, a candidate needs to get more than hal f of the electoral votes, which means at least 270 electoral votes. If no candidate gets 270 votes, the House of Representatives decides who will become president. Why Was the Electoral College Created? The United States Founding Fathers created the Electoral College over 200 years a go. They wanted to ensure that all parts of the country, not just the areas with the most people, had a say in choosing the president. They also wanted to create a system that would be fair and balanced so that no one group or region could have too much power. What Happens After the Election? Once the election is over, the electors meet in their state capitals in December. There, they cast their official votes for president and vice president. These votes are then sent to Washington, D.C., where they are counted in January. If a candidate has won at least 270 electoral votes, they are declared the winner and will be inaugurated as president on January 20th. The Electoral College process is an integral part of the U.S. election system. It may seem complicated, but it has been used for over two centuries to choose the leaders of the United States.