How's YOUR knowledge of the Electoral College?  Can you be an effective defender of the Constitutional presidential election system?  Compare YOUR answers on the Quiz Page to the answers here and find out!

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1. Q. How many electors are in the Electoral College?

A. There are 538 electors, three for the District of Columbia (in accordance with the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution), two for each of the 50 states (reflecting their equal representation in the U.S. Senate), with the remaining 435 assigned to each state in accordance with the number of its representatives in Congress.

2. Q. List two or more 20th century Presidents who were elected without a majority of the popular vote.

A. In 1912, Woodrow Wilson received 41.8% of the popular vote. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson received 49.3%. In 1948, Harry S. Truman received 49.5%. In 1960, John F. Kennedy received 49.7%. In 1968, Richard M. Nixon received 43.4%. In 1992, William J. Clinton received 43%. In 1996, William J. Clinton received 49%, and, in 2000, George W. Bush received 47.8% of the popular vote.

3. Q. List two U.S. Presidents who were elected without a majority in the Electoral College.

A. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and his presumed running mate (Aaron Burr) each received 73 votes in the Electoral College. John Adams received 65, Charles Pinckney, 64, and John Jay 1. Because of the tie, the election went to the House of Representatives where, having secured the support of a majority of the states, Jefferson became President. John Quincy Adams in 1824 received 84 electoral votes, compared to 99 for Andrew Jackson, 41 for William H. Crawford, and 37 for Henry Clay. Adams was elected by the House of Representatives with a majority of the state delegations after he struck a deal with Henry Clay.

4. Q. What is the name of the only U.S. President who did not receive even a single vote in the Electoral College?

A. Gerald Ford.

5. Q. Who determines how our state’s Presidential electors are chosen?

A. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution provides that “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress”.

6. Q. What are the qualifications to be an elector?

A. The same Article II, Section 1 provision makes clear that “no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appoint an Elector”.

7. Q. Who chooses our state’s members of the Electoral College?

A. Currently, all state legislatures have authorized the selection of electors by popular vote.

8. Q. On what date are Presidents elected?

A. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors and the day in which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same throughout the United States, in accordance with Article II, Section 1. Under present law, the electors meet in their state capitals on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.

9. Q. On what date are Presidential election results discovered and announced?

A. The votes of the electors certified by the states are sent to Congress, where the President of the Senate opens the certificates and has them counted in the presence of both Houses on January 6, unless January 6 falls on a Sunday, in which case the discovery of the result occurs on January 7.

10. Q. What happens if the leading Presidential candidate dies before the Electoral College meets?

A. The electors may vote for any Constitutionally qualified candidate.

11. Q. What happens if the Presidential candidate dies between the date on which the electors meet and the date on which the results of the electors voting becomes public?

A. The Vice President chosen by the electors becomes President-elect.

12. Q. What happens if President Bush and Vice President Cheney are re- elected in 2004 but die before inaugural day on January 20, 2005?

A. According to current laws of succession, the Speaker of the House succeeds to the Presidency.

13. Q. Which provisions of the Constitution are particularly relevant to the selection of the President and Vice President?

A. Article II, 12th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 15th Amendment, 19th Amendment, 20th Amendment, 22nd Amendment, 23rd Amendment, 24th Amendment, 25th Amendment, and 26th Amendment.

14. Q. Why did John Wilkes Booth try to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward, as well as President Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Andrew Johnson in April, 1865?

A. To eliminate the President’s successor and the official designated by law to call upon the state legislatures to reconstitute their electors.

How did YOU do?

• If you passed all the questions--Congratulations!  You are prepared to defend the Electoral College to all interested in preserving our Constitutional Republic.  You can learn even more about this important part of our Constitutional system of government, and/or you may want to help others understand the facts and history of the Electoral College.  Get one or more copies of "The Importance of the Electoral College" by Dr. George Grant, with an introduction by Howard Phillips (see below).

• If you missed any questions, you could benefit from the facts and history of the Electoral College.  Get your own copy of "The Importance of the Electoral College" by Dr. George Grant, with an introduction by Howard Phillips (see below).

• If you just don't understand Electoral College, you are not alone, but we can help!  Get your own copy of "The Importance of the Electoral College" (see below).

• If you think the Electoral College should be scrapped, is obsolete, etc., wouldn't you like to learn just why it was set up in the first place--and what would happen to our country if it were scrapped?  Get your own copy of "The Importance of the Electoral College" (see below).

• If you think the Electoral College offers diplomas, then it's time to learn about this Constitutional provision which has served our Republic so well.  Get your own copy of "The Importance of the Electoral College" and earn your "diploma" in Constitutional elections. (see below).

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The Importance of the Electoral College
By Dr. George Grant, with an introduction by Howard Phillips

        What do George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jack Kennedy, Harry Truman, Woodrow Wilson, Abraham Lincoln, and eight other American Presidents have in common? Each received less than a majority of the votes cast in the election that elevated him into the White House. Nevertheless, the Presidency of the United States has enjoyed wide popularity and legitimacy. Why? Simply, the government of this greatest and freest nation the world has ever known has never aspired to or depended upon the forces of pure democracy.

        Yet the question persists in the minds of many: How should Americans select their president? Were the Founding Fathers foolish elitists, or brilliant architects of a system designed to safeguard the American people from both tyranny by majority and tyranny by elites?

        With many Democrats and liberals disappointed over the results of the 2000 presidential election, the raging controversies over vote counting in Florida and the victory of President George W. Bush in 2000 has ignited a debate over the legitimacy of our constitutional process for selecting presidents. The question: Should we scrap the Electoral College in favor of the direct election of presidents?

        In this timely primer on the electoral process, Dr. George Grant makes the case for the brilliance, wisdom, and continuing necessity of the Electoral College. This book is a must for students, lawyers, statesmen, pastors, and citizens of all ages interested in understanding and defending the providential system of elections bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers.

        George Grant, Ph.D., D.Litt., is the director of the King’s Meadow Study Center, Teaching Pastor at Christ Community Church (PCA), coordinator of the Gileskirk Curriculum Project, and Professor of Humanities at Franklin Classical School. He is the author of dozens books in the areas of history, culture, theology, literature, and social issues, including the best-selling Grand Illusions, The Micah Mandate, and Bringing in the Sheaves.