Amendment 23

1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation
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This gave the District of Columbia the same amount of votes for President as equal to the number of Senators and members of Congress they have. This is the same for the states also. It gave Congress the power to enforce this amendment.

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11/24/2009

Population shifts alter electoral college votes

New York Times Upfront, Oct 11, 2004

Americans move around a lot. Each year, thousands of families and individuals pack their bags and move from one state to another for employment or personal reasons.

Whatever the reason, population shifts produce changes in the number of Electoral College votes different states are allotted. Because there are only 538 electoral votes, a rise in one state's population means votes have to be taken away from states that lose population. Since the 2000 election, the populations of 18 states have changed. And that population shift may be working in President Bush's favor. If Bush wins all the states he won in the 2000 election, he will get seven more Electoral College votes than he did in the 2000 election because population growth in those states has increased the number of electoral votes allotted to them.

Thoughts:
I still do not think that the electoral college should be used. How can 538 electoral votes really account for all the American people?

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11/24/2009

Reading an electoral map

Junior Scholastic, Oct 27, 2003

What will it take to be elected the next U.S. President? The answer has changed since the last election!

Every 10 years, the U.S. conducts a census (count of the population), in part to determine the number of seats each state should be given in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The results also determine the number of Electoral College votes for each state, which is equal to the number of its U.S. Senators and Representatives.

The 2000 Census data changed the number of electoral votes in 18 states for the next two presidential elections. Some states, like Texas, had a big population increase according to the 2000 Census. They gained electoral votes. But other states, like New York and Ohio, had a decrease in population and lost votes.

Several of the states that gained electoral votes normally vote for Republican presidential candidates. Had the 2000 election been held using the new electoral vote numbers, President Bush would have won seven more electoral votes.

It takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Thoughts:


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