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They could but I doubt they ever would. If we went with the popular vote over the electoral college all elections would be over in the first threee hours. Well over half of the population lives east of the Mississippi river so in a popular vote they would overwhelm the rest of the country and there would be no reason for Californians to even go to the polls.

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How might a citizen in America's new democracy have complained about the electoral college?

It is unclear what the question is asking.1) Question: By what method would an American citizen in the early days of the republic have complained about the US Electoral College?There are several ways that an American citizen could have complained about the electoral college, such as: protesting; writing his opinion in letters or newspapers; and discussing the issue with his local, state, or federal representatives.2) Question: What issues would an American citizen in the early days of the republic have had with the existence or powers of the US Electoral College?The main issue that American citizens would have had (and stil do have) with the Electoral College is that it divorces the election of the US President, the most powerful statesman in the United States, from the actual popular vote. Other issues with the electoral college remain issues today, including: majority take all voting in the electoral college, that electors can completely disregard the popular vote (such as happened in the non-election of Horace Greeley), and there is no oversight of the Electoral College. An additional problem was that the US had not clarified (until the Twelfth Amendment) that the President and Vice President must come on a combined ticket, so this led to many faulting the US Electoral College for making Thomas Jefferson the Vice President for John Adams when the two were ideologically opposed, leading to stagnation within the executive branch.


How do popular and electoral votes decide the presidency?

Electoral votes in the Electoral College determine the President of the United States. Every state and DC are awarded a certain number of electoral votes with which to elect the President. Each state has electoral votes equal to the total of the 2 representative the state has in the U.S. Senate plus the number of representative the state has in the House of Representatives. The states choose as many electors as it has electoral votes and these electors elect the president. The electors are elected by popular vote in each state and each candidate for elector swears in advance whom he will vote for. 270 electoral votes in the Electoral College are needed to win the U.S. presidency. Since every state has two senators and at least one representative to the House, every state has at least 3 electoral votes. The District of Columbia gets 3 electoral votes. Therefore, the total number of electoral votes in the Electoral College is 538 - 100 (senators) + 435 (representatives) + 3 (for DC). A majority is 270 - one more than half of the total number of 538. It is possible that a candidate could win the "national" popular vote total but lose the electoral vote total. However, the electoral vote of every state accurately reflects the popular vote within that state. A candidate could win the electoral votes in a large state such as California winning the state by a huge margin. However, the opposing candidate could win the electoral votes in other states because a majority of the voters in those states vote for the opposing candidate.That enables the citizens of every state to have a say in the election of the president. If the president was selected by the national popular vote, the citizens in a few large states would select the president of the United States.


How does popular vote relate to electoral votes?

It is possible that a candidate could win the "national" popular vote total but lose the electoral vote total. However, the electoral vote of every state accurately reflects the popular vote within that state. A candidate could win the electoral votes in a large state such as California winning the state by a huge margin. However, the opposing candidate could win the electoral votes in other states because a majority of the voters in those states vote for the opposing candidate.


What was Benjamin Franklin's opinion on the Electoral College?

Benjamin Franklin expressed skepticism about the Electoral College, viewing it as a compromise that might not effectively reflect the will of the people. He believed that the election of the president should be more directly tied to the electorate rather than through intermediaries. Franklin famously remarked that the system could lead to a "dangerous" disconnect between voters and their chosen representatives, highlighting his concerns about its potential to undermine democratic principles.


Who received the second largest amount of electoral votes in the 1796 election?

George Washington was reelected president in 1792 and John Adams was reelected vice-president. According to the prevailing rules of electoral college voting at that time, electors cast votes for two persons. Electors could not distinguish between their presidential and vice-presidential choices. The recipient of the most electoral votes would become president and the runner-up vice-president. George Washington received 132 electoral votes and John Adams received 77 electoral votes. Others receiving electoral votes were George Clinton (50), Thomas Jefferson (4), Aaron Burr (1)

Related Questions

Why are there popular votes if the electoral colleges decide the presidency?

Because the popular vote decides which candidate wins that State's electoral college votes. In the present case, the electoral college will hardly have a choice and could be said to be redundant, but this has not always been the case.


What is a major flaw in the electoral college college system?

A major flaw in the electoral college system is that a candidate could win the popular vote, but lose the election, due to the number of votes per state. This occurred between Bush and Gore.


Why was the electoral college put into place during the founding periods of the US?

The Electoral College is a group of citizens who are elected and act as representatives of the states in the USA, put into place to vote for, and elect the President and Vice President. It was created in 1787. Some people wanted a representative democracy, and some people wanted a direct democracy. With the Electoral College System, it was a compromise between the two. With the Electoral College System, the people could indirectly elect the President.


Do you have to have a majority of votes to win a presidential election?

Electoral votes in the Electoral College determine the President of the United States. 270 electoral votes in the Electoral College are needed to win the U.S. presidency. The total number of electoral votes in the Electoral College is 538 - 100 (senators) + 435 (representatives) + 3 (for DC). A majority is 270 - one more than half of the total number of 538. It is possible that a candidate could win the "national" popular vote total but lose the electoral vote total. However, the electoral vote of every state accurately reflects the popular vote within that state. A candidate could win the electoral votes in a large state such as California winning the state by a huge margin. However, the opposing candidate could win the electoral votes in other states because a majority of the voters in those states vote for the opposing candidate.


Who are the people who formally elect the president and vice president of the United states?

the Electoral College, or you could call them the Electors.


What is the flaws of the electoral college concerning the popular vote vs the electoral vote?

A candidate could be elected by having a majority of the Electoral votes, but losing the popular vote. And (at one time) Electors were not bound to vote the same way as the majority in their state had voted.


By what method would an American citizen in the early days of the republic have complained about the US Electoral College?

There are several ways that an American citizen could have complained about the electoral college, such as: protesting; writing his opinion in letters or newspapers; and discussing the issue with his local, state, or federal representatives.


How many electoral colleges are in the US?

The Electoral College is the collective name that has been given to the 538 delegates from the 50 states who cast their electoral votes every four years to elect the President and Vice President, as specified by the US Constitution. In one sense, you could say that there is only one Electoral College, as the method is only used in presidential elections; however, a different set of electors are chosen every four years.


What is an electoral college deadlock?

In order to elect a president , one candidate must receive more than half the votes. If more than two candidates receive votes, then it is possible that no one will get the required majority and you could say the electoral college is deadlocked. As of 2014, with the total of electoral votes being 538, it is also possible that two candidates could each receive 269. This tie vote would sent the election to the US Congress.


How can you win the popular vote and still lose the election with the Electoral College system?

In the US elections for President and Vice President, the Electoral College actually votes to determine the winner. Many states award their electoral votes "winner take all" so that a narrow victory is the same as an overwhelming one. If one candidate wins most of the very-populous states but not enough electoral votes, their large popular vote in those states does not do them any good. The Electoral College was set up to avoid domination of the Presidency by candidates from the most populous states, at the expense of the more-numerous smaller states.


How might a citizen in America's new democracy have complained about the electoral college?

It is unclear what the question is asking.1) Question: By what method would an American citizen in the early days of the republic have complained about the US Electoral College?There are several ways that an American citizen could have complained about the electoral college, such as: protesting; writing his opinion in letters or newspapers; and discussing the issue with his local, state, or federal representatives.2) Question: What issues would an American citizen in the early days of the republic have had with the existence or powers of the US Electoral College?The main issue that American citizens would have had (and stil do have) with the Electoral College is that it divorces the election of the US President, the most powerful statesman in the United States, from the actual popular vote. Other issues with the electoral college remain issues today, including: majority take all voting in the electoral college, that electors can completely disregard the popular vote (such as happened in the non-election of Horace Greeley), and there is no oversight of the Electoral College. An additional problem was that the US had not clarified (until the Twelfth Amendment) that the President and Vice President must come on a combined ticket, so this led to many faulting the US Electoral College for making Thomas Jefferson the Vice President for John Adams when the two were ideologically opposed, leading to stagnation within the executive branch.


How many members of th Electoral College are Ohio?

In the 2012 presidential election 5,387,070 votes were cast. Ohio has 18 electoral votes, so one might say that each electoral vote represents 298,837 popular votes. On the other hand, only 2.697,260 of the votes were for Obama and all 18 electoral will be for Obama. so you could that each electoral vote represents 149,847 people.