2. Notable Presidents
War on: he gets going Oh Man! Brain call Hot oversteered loo
George Washington Abraham Lincoln Theodore Roosevelt
Finest love-lorn dark Jail limit 'n' clown He grew bogus
In Marx in chord
Franklin D Roosevelt William J Clinton George W Bush
Richard M Nixon
3. How does the Electoral College work?
• Voters in the US go to the polls in their states (there are 50)
• There are 538 ‘electors’ who will decide the election. A
candidate needs support of 270 electors to win the presidency
• Each state has the same number of electors as members in its
congressional delegation. Texas has 38 electors total, equal to
its 36 members in the House and 2 Senators.
• California has the most with 55. Texas has the second most. 3
is the smallest number of electors for any state.
• Most states have a winner-takes-all rule
• So even if a candidate wins just 50.1 percent of the popular
vote in a state, they win all of the electoral votes in that state.
The exceptions to the winner-takes-all rule are Maine and
Nebraska.
• The totals are added up – and a winner is decided on
Wednesday morning...usually!
5. • First presidential election
• There was not universal suffrage as we know it today – only 6%
of population could vote •
• Electors had two votes
• Three states did not vote for various reasons •
• In the early years the runner up became Vice President
6. • Electoral college landslide – Nixon takes 48 states
• A ‘faithless voter’ in Virginia votes for John Hospers
• California becomes most populous state and therefore
has most electors for the first time overtaking NY
• 18 year olds can vote for the first time (26th Amendment)
•
• Nixon resigned two years later after the Watergate •
scandal •
7. • What seems like a straightforward win for Clinton is masked
by the performance of a third party ‘spoiler’ candidate
• Although Ross Perot gained no electoral college votes, he did
pick up over 19 million of the popular vote •
• As Perot was a right wing candidate it could be argued that if
he hadn’t have stood George H Bush may have won a 2nd term •
•
8. • Bush wins presidency despite Gore gaining 500,000 more votes
nationwide
• The election comes down to Florida’s 25 electoral college votes, with Bush
winning the state by just 500 votes
• Problems with voting machines in some areas leads to court challenges by •
Gore – the Supreme Court finally deciding to end manual recounts by 5-4 •
• Again a third party ‘spoiler’ has an impact – environmentalist Ralph Nader.
If he had not have stood it is likely Gore would have won the election
9. • Obama received more votes than any candidate in history
– almost 70 million
• McCain won Nebraska but Obama took one Electoral •
College vote – the first time it had done this since •
changing system in 1992 •
2000 Election stolen?
10. Battleground states
• Most states have a history
of voting for a particular
party and the presidential
candidates will count on
their votes again. This
leaves a handful of states
where the election will be
decided. These are the
election battlegrounds.
• In these states the race is
close enough that either
candidate could win. These
"purple states" are where
the campaigns will focus
their time and money.
12. House of
Representatives
• Each state elects
Representatives
based on their
population
• California elects • All 435 House members are up for re-election
most in 2012
Representatives • The House is not expected to change
- 53, Alaska hands, though either party could make gains
elects 1 depending on the results of the 20 ‘toss-up’
districts
• The Republicans • Missouri 2nd district pitches Todd Akin (R)
currently have a against Claire McCaskill (D) after his
clear majority in controversial ‘legitimate rape’ comments. The
the House (242- race has narrowed but Akin is still expected to
193) win
13. Senate
• Each state elects 2
Senators
regardless of
population size
• The Democrats
currently have a • 1/3 (33) of Senate is up for re-
slim majority in
the Senate (51-47) election in 2012
• Well short of a • The Senate is not expected to
‘filibuster’ proof change hands, though there could
total of 60 be a tie if all 4 of the ‘toss-up’ races
• The 2 go to the Republican candidates
‘Independents’ (Montana, ND, Wisconsin and
both caucus with Virginia)
the Democrats
14. There are also Gubernatorial
Elections in 11 states...
• Including West Virginia, North Carolina and Utah
...and also initiatives!
• There are 174 propositions on 37 state ballots
on issues ranging from:
• Legalising marijuana (Colorado, Oregon &
Washington)
• Same-sex marriage (Maine, Washington &
Maryland)
• Health care (Alabama, Florida, Montana &
Wyoming)
• And more including death penalty & taxes...
15. The first polls close at Midnight...
• 0:00 am (6): Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South
Carolina, Vermont, Virginia
• 0:30 am (3): North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia
• 1:00 am (16):
Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Marylan
d,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Tennessee
• 1:30 am (1): Arkansas
• 2:00 am (14):
Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska,
New Mexico,
New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming
• 3:00 am (4): Iowa, Montana, Nevada, Utah
• 4:00 am (5): California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
So6:00am (1): Alaska after college and set your alarm for
•
straight to bed
11...and don’t forget the bingo sheet!