The county unit system was a voting system used by the U.S. state of Georgia to determine a victor in statewide primary elections, as well as some Congressional elections, from 1917 until 1962.
102-532: Though the county unit system had informally been used since 1898, it was formally enacted by the Neill Primary Act of 1917. The system was ostensibly designed to function similarly to the Electoral College , and so in practice the large ratio of unit votes for small, rural counties to unit votes for more populous urban areas provided outsized political influence to the smaller counties. For
204-746: A decennial census for the purpose of assuring fair apportionment of seats in the United States House of Representatives among the states, based on their population. Reapportionment has generally been conducted without incident with the exception of the reapportionment that should have followed the 1920 census , which was effectively skipped pending resolution by the Reapportionment Act of 1929 . State legislatures , however, initially established election of congressional representatives from districts that were often based on traditional counties or parishes that had preceded founding of
306-559: A direct election for president (as proposed by Hamilton among others), failed to get traction among slave states. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt describe it as "not a product of constitutional theory or farsighted design. Rather, it was adopted by default, after all other alternatives had been rejected." In 1787, the Constitutional Convention used the Virginia Plan as the basis for discussions, as
408-444: A winner-take-all basis. Candidates were required to obtain a majority of unit votes (not necessarily a majority of the popular vote), or 206 total unit votes, to win the election. If no candidate received a majority in the initial primary, a runoff election was held between the top two candidates to determine a winner. The county unit system generated great controversy, since it gave the votes of counties with smaller populations
510-468: A U.S. Senate report in 1826 critiqued the evolution of the system: It was the intention of the Constitution that these electors should be an independent body of men, chosen by the people from among themselves, on account of their superior discernment, virtue, and information; and that this select body should be left to make the election according to their own will , without the slightest control from
612-476: A decision by a vote of 8–1 declaring the county unit system unconstitutional in its current form. In the majority opinion, Justice William O. Douglas wrote, "The concept of political equality ... can mean only one thing—one person, one vote." The Gray v. Sanders case was the first "one person, one vote" decision handed down by the Supreme Court. Governor Ernest Vandiver had pledged to maintain
714-405: A dissenting opinion, the original intention of the framers was that the electors would not feel bound to support any particular candidate, but would vote their conscience, free of external pressure. "No one faithful to our history can deny that the plan originally contemplated, what is implicit in its text, that electors would be free agents, to exercise an independent and nonpartisan judgment as to
816-552: A faction as "a number of citizens whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." A republican government (i.e., representative democracy , as opposed to direct democracy ) combined with the principles of federalism (with distribution of voter rights and separation of government powers), would countervail against factions. Madison further postulated in
918-573: A majority. Responding to the problems from those elections, Congress proposed on December 9, 1803, and three-fourths of the states ratified by June 15, 1804, the Twelfth Amendment . Starting with the 1804 election , the amendment requires electors to cast separate ballots for president and vice president, replacing the system outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3. Some Founding Fathers hoped that each elector would be elected by
1020-554: A popular election, the states identify and record their appointed electors in a Certificate of Ascertainment , and those appointed electors then meet in their respective jurisdictions and produce a Certificate of Vote for their candidate; both certificates are then sent to Congress to be opened and counted. In 48 of the 50 states, state laws mandate that the winner of the plurality of the statewide popular vote receives all of that state's electoral votes. In Maine and Nebraska , two electoral votes are assigned in this manner, while
1122-510: A resulting change in the number of seats to which that state was entitled in the House of Representatives. In many states, both North and South, this inaction resulted in a skewing of influence for voters in some districts over those in others, generally with a bias toward rural districts. For example, if the 2nd congressional district eventually had a population of 1.5 million, but the 3rd had only 500,000, then, in effect – since each district elected
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#17327985804251224-404: A significantly greater weight than counties with larger populations. For at least the final two decades the system was in use, a majority of statewide unit votes were controlled by counties that, collectively, had less than one-third of the state's total population. Because of this, statewide candidates for office could (and frequently did) win the primary by winning the county unit vote while losing
1326-400: Is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality , especially with regard to electoral reforms like universal suffrage , direct elections , and proportional representation . The violation of equal representation on a seat per vote basis in various electoral systems can be measured with
1428-479: Is equal to the size of its congressional delegation, each state is entitled to at least three electors regardless of its population, and the apportionment of the statutorily fixed number of the rest is only roughly proportional. This allocation has contributed to runners-up of the nationwide popular vote being elected president in 1824 , 1876 , 1888 , 2000 , and 2016. In addition, faithless electors may not vote in accord with their pledge. A further objection
1530-518: Is that swing states receive the most attention from candidates. By the end of the 20th century, electoral colleges had been abandoned by all other democracies around the world in favor of direct elections for an executive president . Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution directs each state to appoint a number of electors equal to that state's congressional delegation (the number of members of
1632-645: The Civil Rights Movement to restore the ability of African Americans in the South to register and vote highlighted other voting inequities across the country. In 1964–1965, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed, in part to enforce the constitutional voting rights of African Americans . Numerous court challenges were raised, including in Alabama, to correct
1734-836: The Framers of the Constitution : Election expert, William C. Kimberling, reflected on the original intent as follows: "The function of the College of Electors in choosing the president can be likened to that in the Roman Catholic Church of the College of Cardinals selecting the Pope. The original idea was for the most knowledgeable and informed individuals from each State to select the president based solely on merit and without regard to State of origin or political party." According to Supreme Court justice Robert H. Jackson , in
1836-550: The House of Commons was on representing areas : counties, boroughs and, later on, universities . The entitlement to vote for the Members of Parliament representing the constituencies varied widely, with different qualifications over time, such as owning property of a certain value, holding an apprenticeship, qualifying for paying the local-government rates, or holding a degree from the university in question. Those who qualified for
1938-475: The House of Representatives plus two senators ). The same clause empowers each state legislature to determine the manner by which that state's electors are chosen but prohibits federal office holders from being named electors. Following the national presidential election day on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, each state, and the federal district, selects its electors according to its laws. After
2040-407: The House of Representatives pursuant to the Constitution's contingency election provision. Having already lost the presidential contest, Federalist Party representatives in the lame duck House session seized upon the opportunity to embarrass their opposition by attempting to elect Burr over Jefferson. The House deadlocked for 35 ballots as neither candidate received the necessary majority vote of
2142-727: The Loosemore–Hanby index , the Gallagher index , and other measures of disproportionality. The phrase surged in English-language usage around 1880, thanks in part to British trade unionist George Howell , who used the phrase "one man, one vote" in political pamphlets. During the mid-to-late 20th-century period of decolonisation and the struggles for national sovereignty, this phrase became widely used in developing countries where majority populations sought to gain political power in proportion to their numbers. The slogan
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#17327985804252244-586: The Northern Territory . Historically, all states (other than Tasmania) have had some form of malapportionment , but electoral reform in recent decades has resulted in electoral legislation and policy frameworks based on the "one vote, one value" principle. However, in the Western Australian and Queensland Legislative Assemblies, seats covering areas greater than 100,000 square kilometres (38,600 sq mi) may have fewer electors than
2346-560: The Twenty-third Amendment granted the federal District of Columbia three electors (bringing the total number from 535 to 538). A simple majority of electoral votes (270 or more) is required to elect the president and vice president. If no candidate achieves a majority, a contingent election is held by the House of Representatives , to elect the president, and by the Senate , to elect the vice president. The states and
2448-538: The general election in November. Sanders was the first person from an urban county ( Richmond ) to be elected governor since the 1920s. In addition, a State Senate district was reconfigured in Fulton County, allowing for the election of Leroy Johnson as the first Black state legislator since 1908. Following the 1963 Gray v. Sanders decision, the Georgia Legislature had the option to redesign
2550-548: The president and vice president . The process is described in Article Two of the Constitution . The number of electoral votes exercised by each state is equal to that state's congressional delegation which is the number of Senators (two) plus the number of Representatives for that state. Each state appoints electors using legal procedures determined by its legislature . Federal office holders , including senators and representatives, cannot be electors. Additionally,
2652-584: The ticket with the highest statewide vote. The electors meet and vote in December, and the inaugurations of the president and vice president take place in January. The merit of the electoral college system has been a matter of ongoing debate in the United States since its inception at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, becoming more controversial by the latter years of the 19th century, up to
2754-599: The 20th century, population had increased in urban, industrialized areas. In addition to applying the Equal Protection Clause of the constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion (5–4) led by Chief Justice Earl Warren in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) ruled that state legislatures, unlike the U.S. Congress , needed to have representation in both houses that was based on districts containing roughly equal populations, with redistricting as needed after
2856-474: The Constitution was designed to be a mixture of state-based and population-based government. Congress would have two houses: the state-based Senate and the population-based House of Representatives . Meanwhile, the president would be elected by a mixture of the two modes. Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 68 , published on March 12, 1788, laid out what he believed were the key advantages to
2958-568: The District of Columbia hold a statewide or district-wide popular vote on Election Day in November to choose electors based upon how they have pledged to vote for president and vice president, with some state laws prohibiting faithless electors . All states except Maine and Nebraska use a party block voting , or general ticket method, to choose their electors, meaning all their electors go to one winning ticket. Maine and Nebraska choose one elector per congressional district and two electors for
3060-565: The Electoral College with some consideration for states. At the compromise providing for a runoff among the top five candidates, the small states supposed that the House of Representatives, with each state delegation casting one vote, would decide most elections. In The Federalist Papers , James Madison explained his views on the selection of the president and the Constitution . In Federalist No. 39 , Madison argued that
3162-502: The Electoral College, in other words, was a body of men who could serve as a check on the uninformed mass electorate." In spite of Hamilton's assertion that electors were to be chosen by mass election, initially, state legislatures chose the electors in most of the states. States progressively changed to selection by popular election. In 1824 , there were six states in which electors were still legislatively appointed. By 1832 , only South Carolina had not transitioned. Since 1864 (with
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3264-436: The Electoral College. The electors come directly from the people and them alone, for that purpose only, and for that time only. This avoided a party-run legislature or a permanent body that could be influenced by foreign interests before each election. Hamilton explained that the election was to take place among all the states, so no corruption in any state could taint "the great body of the people" in their selection. The choice
3366-556: The Electoral College] for the temporary and sole purpose of making the appointment. And they have EXCLUDED from eligibility to this trust, all those who from situation might be suspected of too great devotion to the President in office [in other words, no one can be an Elector who is prejudiced toward the president]... Thus without corrupting the body of the people, the immediate agents in the election will at least enter upon
3468-610: The Federalist No. 10 that the greater the population and expanse of the Republic, the more difficulty factions would face in organizing due to such issues as sectionalism . Although the United States Constitution refers to "Electors" and "electors", neither the phrase "Electoral College" nor any other name is used to describe the electors collectively. It was not until the early 19th century that
3570-655: The Parliament of Northern Ireland had been extended in 1928 to all adult citizens who were not disqualified, at the same time as the franchise for elections to Westminster. But, university representation and the business vote continued for elections to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland until 1969. They were abolished in 1948 for elections to the UK House of Commons (including Westminster seats in Northern Ireland). Historians and political scholars have debated
3672-531: The Parliament of Northern Ireland. This meant that in local council elections (as in Great Britain), ratepayers and their spouses, whether renting or owning the property, could vote, and company directors had an extra vote by virtue of their company's status. However, unlike the situation in Great Britain, non-ratepayers did not have a vote in local government elections. The franchise for elections to
3774-642: The People Act 1969 . When Northern Ireland was established in 1921, it adopted the same political system then in place for the Westminster Parliament and British local government. But the Parliament of Northern Ireland did not follow Westminster in changes to the franchise from 1945 . As a result, into the 1960s, plural voting was still allowed not only for local government (as it was for local government in Great Britain), but also for
3876-461: The Senate with two representatives, without regard to population. The Founding Fathers considered this principle of such importance that they included a clause in the Constitution to prohibit any state from being deprived of equal representation in the Senate without its permission; see Article V of the United States Constitution . For this reason, "one person, one vote" has never been implemented in
3978-522: The Supreme Court reversed its opinion, ruling in the Tennessee case of Baker v. Carr that redistricting issues present justiciable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases. Following the 1962 Baker v. Carr decision, James Sanders, a voter in Fulton County , filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia which challenged
4080-601: The U.S. Senate, in terms of representation by states. When states established their legislatures, they often adopted a bicameral model based on colonial governments or the federal government. Many copied the Senate principle, establishing an upper house based on geography - for instance, a state senate with one representative drawn from each county. By the 20th century, this often resulted in state senators having widely varying amounts of political power, with ones from rural areas having votes equal in power to those of senators representing much greater urban populations. Activism in
4182-414: The U.S. Supreme Court declared that equality of voting—one person, one vote—means that "the weight and worth of the citizens' votes as nearly as is practicable must be the same". They ruled that states must draw federal congressional districts containing roughly equal represented populations. This phrase was traditionally used in the context of demands for suffrage reform. Historically the emphasis within
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4284-750: The United States Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren overturned the previous decision in Colegrove holding that malapportionment claims under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment were not exempt from judicial review under Article IV, Section 4 , as the equal protection issue in this case was separate from any political questions. The "one person, one vote" doctrine, which requires electoral districts to be apportioned according to population, thus making each district roughly equal in population,
4386-460: The Virginia proposal was the first. The Virginia Plan called for Congress to elect the president. Delegates from a majority of states agreed to this mode of election. After being debated, delegates came to oppose nomination by Congress for the reason that it could violate the separation of powers. James Wilson then made a motion for electors for the purpose of choosing the president. Later in
4488-455: The body of the people. That this intention has failed of its object in every election, is a fact of such universal notoriety that no one can dispute it. Electors, therefore, have not answered the design of their institution. They are not the independent body and superior characters which they were intended to be. They are not left to the exercise of their own judgment: on the contrary, they give their vote, or bind themselves to give it, according to
4590-534: The citizens of a district and that elector was to be free to analyze and deliberate regarding who is best suited to be president. In Federalist No. 68 Alexander Hamilton described the Founding Fathers' view of how electors would be chosen: A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated [tasks]... They [the framers of
4692-402: The constitution ] have not made the appointment of the President to depend on any preexisting bodies of men [i.e. Electors pledged to vote one way or another], who might be tampered with beforehand to prostitute their votes [i.e., to be told how to vote]; but they have referred it in the first instance to an immediate act of the people of America, to be exerted in the choice of persons [Electors to
4794-654: The convention, a committee formed to work out various details. They included the mode of election of the president, including final recommendations for the electors, a group of people apportioned among the states in the same numbers as their representatives in Congress (the formula for which had been resolved in lengthy debates resulting in the Connecticut Compromise and Three-Fifths Compromise ), but chosen by each state "in such manner as its Legislature may direct". Committee member Gouverneur Morris explained
4896-436: The county unit system to meet the new "one person, one vote" standard. The legislature chose, instead, to continue electing statewide offices by their popular vote, which continues to the present day. The newly elected Governor Sanders also spearheaded a massive reapportionment of Georgia's General Assembly and 10 U.S. Congressional districts , providing more proportional representation to the state's urban areas as well as to
4998-552: The county unit system, but after Judge Bell issued the injunction against its usage, Vandiver then ordered the Georgia Democratic State Executive Committee to conduct the 1962 primary by popular vote. Due to the court's injunction of the county unit system in 1962, that year's Democratic gubernatorial primary was the first to be decided by popular vote since 1908. It was won by Carl Sanders of Augusta , who would go on to win unopposed in
5100-531: The county unit system, the 159 counties in Georgia were divided by population into three categories. The largest eight counties were classified as "urban", the next-largest 30 counties were classified as "town", and the remaining 121 counties were classified as "rural". Urban counties were given 6 unit votes, town counties were given 4 unit votes, and rural counties were given 2 unit votes, for a total of 410 available unit votes. Each county's unit votes were awarded on
5202-487: The current vice president, as president of the Senate. Should a majority of votes not be cast for a candidate, a contingent election takes place: the House holds a presidential election session, where one vote is cast by each of the fifty states. The Senate is responsible for electing the vice president, with each senator having one vote. The elected president and vice president are inaugurated on January 20. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors. States select 535 of
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#17327985804255304-557: The decades in which state legislative districts had not been redefined or reapportioned, resulting in lack of representation for many residents. In Colegrove v. Green , 328 U.S. 549 (1946) the United States Supreme Court held in a 4–3 plurality decision that Article I, Section 4 left to the legislature of each state the authority to establish the time, place, and manner of holding elections for representatives. However, in Baker v. Carr , 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
5406-468: The decennial censuses. Some states had established an upper house based on an equal number of representatives to be elected from each county, modelled after the US Senate. Because of changes following industrialization and urbanization, most population growth had been in cities, and the bicameral state legislatures gave undue political power to rural counties. In the 1964 Wesberry v. Sanders decision,
5508-488: The election process from cabal, corruption, intrigue, and faction. Some delegates, including James Wilson and James Madison, preferred popular election of the executive. Madison acknowledged that while a popular vote would be ideal, it would be difficult to get consensus on the proposal given the prevalence of slavery in the South: There was one difficulty, however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by
5610-423: The electors in the electoral colleges. It is notorious, that the electors are now chosen wholly with reference to particular candidates, and are silently pledged to vote for them. Nay, upon some occasions the electors publicly pledge themselves to vote for a particular person; and thus, in effect, the whole foundation of the system, so elaborately constructed, is subverted. Story observed that if an elector does what
5712-417: The electors voted, Jefferson and Burr were tied with one another with 73 electoral votes each. Since ballots did not distinguish between votes for president and votes for vice president, every ballot cast for Burr technically counted as a vote for him to become president, despite Jefferson clearly being his party's first choice. Lacking a clear winner by constitutional standards, the election had to be decided by
5814-458: The electors' pledge. The electors of each state meet in their respective state capital on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday of December, between December 14 and 20, to cast their votes. The results are sent to and counted by the Congress , where they are tabulated in the first week of January before a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives , presided over by
5916-572: The electors, this number matches the aggregate total of their congressional delegations. The additional three electors come from the Twenty-third Amendment , ratified in 1961, providing that the district established pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 as the seat of the federal government (namely, Washington, D.C. ) is entitled to the same number of electors as the least populous state. In practice, that results in Washington D.C. being entitled to three electors. The Electoral College
6018-605: The extent to which the franchise for local government contributed to unionist electoral success in controlling councils in nationalist -majority areas. Based on a number of inequities, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was founded in 1967. It had five primary demands, and added the demand that each citizen in Northern Ireland be afforded the same number of votes for local government elections (as stated above, this
6120-514: The first Black members elected to the State House. However, conservative legislators feared the end of the county unit system as portending a loss of white power in the electoral process, and State Representative Denmark Groover drafted legislation to change the primary and general election systems from plurality voting to a two-round system . The bill was passed in 1964, but would not be extended to statewide executive elections until after
6222-427: The framers anticipate candidates "running" for president. Within just a few years of the ratification of the Constitution, however, both phenomena became permanent features of the political landscape of the United States. The emergence of political parties and nationally coordinated election campaigns soon complicated matters in the elections of 1796 and 1800 . In 1796, Federalist Party candidate John Adams won
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#17327985804256324-433: The framers of the Constitution expected him to do, he would be considered immoral: So, that nothing is left to the electors after their choice, but to register votes, which are already pledged; and an exercise of an independent judgment would be treated, as a political usurpation, dishonorable to the individual, and a fraud upon his constituents. One man, one vote " One man, one vote " or " one vote, one value "
6426-587: The framing the more important consideration was that electors, expected to be more knowledgeable and responsible, would actually do the choosing." Constitutional expert Michael Signer explained that the electoral college was designed "to provide a mechanism where intelligent, thoughtful and statesmanlike leaders could deliberate on the winner of the popular vote and, if necessary, choose another candidate who would not put Constitutional values and practices at risk." Robert Schlesinger , writing for U.S. News and World Report , similarly stated, "The original conception of
6528-593: The general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.' Philip J. VanFossen of Purdue University explains that the original purpose of the electors was not to reflect the will of the citizens, but rather to "serve as a check on a public who might be easily misled." Randall Calvert, the Eagleton Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis , stated, "At
6630-477: The general tolerance would otherwise allow. The following chart documents the years that the upper and lower houses of each Australian state parliament replaced malapportionment with the 'one vote, one value' principle. The Whitlam Labor government proposed to amend the Constitution in a referendum in 1974 to require the use of population to determine the size of electorates rather than alternative methods of distributing seats, such as geographical size. The bill
6732-651: The legality of the county unit system. James H. Gray, the chairman of the State Executive Committee of the Democratic Party, was one of the defendants named in the suit. Judge Griffin Bell ruled in Sanders' favor, issuing an injunction against using the system just months before the 1962 gubernatorial primary. Gray appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which on March 8, 1963, rendered
6834-454: The men best qualified for the Nation's highest offices." In support for his view, Justice Jackson cited Federalist No. 68 : 'It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any pre-established body, but to men chosen by the people for
6936-405: The name "Electoral College" came into general usage as the collective designation for the electors selected to cast votes for president and vice president. The phrase was first written into federal law in 1845, and today the term appears in 3 U.S.C. § 4 , in the section heading and in the text as "college of electors". Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution provided
7038-424: The new government. The question then arose as to whether the legislatures were required to ensure that House districts were roughly equal in population and to draw new districts to accommodate demographic changes. Some U.S. states redrew their House districts every ten years to reflect changes in population patterns; many did not. Some never redrew them, except when it was mandated by reapportionment of Congress and
7140-451: The original plan by which the electors voted for president. Under the original plan, each elector cast two votes for president; electors did not vote for vice president. Whoever received a majority of votes from the electors would become president, with the person receiving the second most votes becoming vice president. According to Stanley Chang, the original plan of the Electoral College was based upon several assumptions and anticipations of
7242-415: The overall popular vote, sometimes by large margins. This also gave rise to kingmakers such as Roy V. Harris , who were known for their ability to deliver the unit votes of many rural counties. One of the most controversial elections of the county unit system era was the 1946 Democratic gubernatorial primary . By winning a large number of rural counties, Eugene Talmadge garnered a nearly 60% majority of
7344-671: The people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of Negroes. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to the fewest objections. The convention approved the committee's Electoral College proposal, with minor modifications, on September 4, 1787. Delegates from states with smaller populations or limited land area, such as Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland, generally favored
7446-585: The period this system was in effect, the Democratic Party was the single dominant party in state politics. Democratic nominees frequently ran unopposed or with only token opposition in general elections, so the Democratic primary election usually determined the eventual officeholder . This was combined with other devices, such as white primaries , to make sure that only the votes of white rural voters would be reflected in statewide elections. Under
7548-417: The popular will of the nation. Winner-take-all systems, especially with representation not proportional to population, do not align with the principle of " one person, one vote ". Critics object to the inequity that, due to the distribution of electors, individual citizens in states with smaller populations have more voting power than those in larger states. Because the number of electors each state appoints
7650-418: The population of the state. Currently, for the House of Representatives, the number of enrolled voters in each division in a state or territory can vary by up to 10% from the average quota for the state or territory, and the number of voters can vary by up to 3.5% from the average projected enrolment three-and-a-half years into the future. The allowable quota variation of the number of electors in each division
7752-421: The present day. More resolutions have been submitted to amend the Electoral College mechanism than any other part of the constitution. An amendment that would have abolished the system was approved by the House in 1969, but failed to move past the Senate. Supporters argue that it requires presidential candidates to have broad appeal across the country to win, while critics argue that it is not representative of
7854-551: The presidential election. Finishing in second place was Democratic-Republican Party candidate Thomas Jefferson , the Federalists' opponent, who became the vice president. This resulted in the president and vice president being of different political parties. In 1800, the Democratic-Republican Party again nominated Jefferson for president and also again nominated Aaron Burr for vice president. After
7956-399: The reasons for the change. Among others, there were fears of "intrigue" if the president were chosen by a small group of men who met together regularly, as well as concerns for the independence of the president if he were elected by Congress. Once the Electoral College had been decided on, several delegates (Mason, Butler, Morris, Wilson, and Madison) openly recognized its ability to protect
8058-428: The remaining electoral votes are allocated based on the plurality of votes in each of their congressional districts . The federal district, Washington, D.C. , allocates its 3 electoral votes to the winner of its single district election. States generally require electors to pledge to vote for that state's winning ticket; to prevent electors from being faithless electors , most states have adopted various laws to enforce
8160-553: The result of the 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election , which persuaded the General Assembly to send Amendment 2 to passage by referendum in 1968. Electoral College (United States) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In the United States , the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years during the presidential election for the sole purpose of voting for
8262-480: The same number of enrolled voters (not residents or population), within a specified percentage of variance. The electoral laws of the federal House of Representatives , and of the state and territory parliaments, follow the principle, with a few exceptions. The principle does not apply to the Senate because, under the Australian constitution , each state is entitled to the same number of senators, irrespective of
8364-464: The same number of representatives – a voter in the 3rd district had three times the voting power of a 2nd-district voter. Alabama's state legislature resisted redistricting from 1910 to 1972 (when forced by federal court order). As a result, rural residents retained a wildly disproportionate amount of power in a time when other areas of the state became urbanized and industrialized, attracting greater populations. Such urban areas were under-represented in
8466-485: The selection of the president should be "made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station [of president]." Hamilton stated that the electors were to analyze the list of potential presidents and select the best one. He also used the term "deliberate." In a 2020 opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court, the court additionally cited John Jay 's view that the electors' choices would reflect "discretion and discernment." Reflecting on this original intention,
8568-503: The sole exception of newly admitted Colorado in 1876 for logistical reasons), electors in every state have been chosen based on a popular election held on Election Day . The popular election for electors means the president and vice president are in effect chosen through indirect election by the citizens. The framers of the Constitution did not anticipate political parties . Indeed George Washington 's Farewell Address in 1796 included an urgent appeal to avert such parties. Neither did
8670-429: The special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture... It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow citizens from
8772-473: The state delegations in the House (The votes of nine states were needed for a conclusive election.). On the 36th ballot, Delaware's lone Representative, James A. Bayard , made it known that he intended to break the impasse for fear that failure to do so could endanger the future of the Union. Bayard and other Federalists from South Carolina, Maryland, and Vermont abstained, breaking the deadlock and giving Jefferson
8874-466: The state legislature and underserved; their residents had difficulty getting needed funding for infrastructure and services. Such areas paid far more in taxes to the state than they received in benefits in relation to the population. The Constitution incorporates the result of the Great Compromise , which established representation for the U.S. Senate. Each state was equally represented in
8976-517: The statewide county unit votes and won the primary, even though he lost the popular vote by 16,144 votes to James V. Carmichael , who himself only won a plurality, not a majority, of the popular vote. Several lawsuits were filed in the 1940s and 1950s challenging the constitutionality of the system. These lawsuits were rejected by the Supreme Court on the grounds that apportionment issues should be handled by individual states. In 1962, however,
9078-617: The task free from any sinister bias [Electors must not come to the Electoral College with bias]. Their transient existence, and their detached [unbiased] situation, already taken notice of, afford a satisfactory prospect of their continuing so, to the conclusion of it." However, when electors were pledged to vote for a specific candidate, the slate of electors chosen by the state were no longer free agents, independent thinkers, or deliberative representatives. They became, as Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote, "voluntary party lackeys and intellectual non-entities." According to Hamilton, writing in 1788,
9180-454: The top five candidates, ensuring selection of a presiding officer administering the laws would have both ability and good character. Hamilton was also concerned about somebody unqualified but with a talent for "low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity" attaining high office. In the Federalist No. 10 , James Madison argued against "an interested and overbearing majority" and the "mischiefs of faction" in an electoral system . He defined
9282-437: The vote in more than one constituency were entitled to vote in each constituency, while many adults did not qualify for the vote at all. Plural voting was also present in local government, whereby the owners of business property qualified for votes in the relevant wards . Reformers argued that Members of Parliament and other elected officials should represent citizens equally, and that each voter should be entitled to exercise
9384-518: The vote once in an election. Successive Reform Acts by 1950 had both extended the franchise eventually to almost all adult citizens (barring convicts , lunatics and members of the House of Lords ), and also reduced and finally eliminated plural voting for Westminster elections. Plural voting for local-government elections outside the City of London was not abolished until the Representation of
9486-483: The will of their constituents. They have degenerated into mere agents, in a case which requires no agency, and where the agent must be useless... In 1833, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story detailed how badly from the framers' intention the Electoral Process had been "subverted": In no respect have the views of the framers of the constitution been so completely frustrated as relates to the independence of
9588-629: Was further affirmed by the Warren Court in the landmark cases that followed Baker , including Gray v. Sanders , 372 U.S. 368 (1963), which concerned the county unit system in Georgia; Reynolds v. Sims , 377 U.S. 533 (1964) which concerned state legislature districts; Wesberry v. Sanders , 376 U.S. 1 (1964), which concerned U.S. congressional districts; and Avery v. Midland County , 390 U.S. 474 (1968) which concerned local government districts. The Warren Court's decision
9690-627: Was not passed by the Senate and instead the referendum was put to voters using the deadlock provision in Section 128 . The referendum was not carried, obtaining a majority in just one State and achieving 47.20% support, an overall minority of 407,398 votes. In 1988, the Hawke Labor government submitted a referendum proposal to enshrine the principle in the Australian Constitution . The referendum question came about due to
9792-705: Was not yet the case anywhere in the United Kingdom). The slogan "one man, one vote" became a rallying cry for this campaign. The Parliament of Northern Ireland voted to update the voting rules for elections to the Northern Ireland House of Commons, which were implemented for the 1969 Northern Ireland general election , and for local government elections, which was done by the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 , passed on 25 November 1969. The United States Constitution requires
9894-546: Was notably used by the anti-apartheid movement during the 1980s, which sought to end white minority rule in South Africa . In the United States, the "one person, one vote" principle was invoked in a series of cases by the Warren Court in the 1960s during the height of related civil rights activities. By the second half of the 20th century, many states had neglected to redistrict for decades, because their legislatures were dominated by rural interests. But during
9996-490: Was officially selected as the means of electing president towards the end of the Constitutional Convention, due to pressure from slave states wanting to increase their voting power, since they could count slaves as 3/5 of a person when allocating electors, and by small states who increased their power given the minimum of three electors per state. The compromise was reached after other proposals, including
10098-579: Was reduced from 20% to 10% by the Commonwealth Electoral Act (No. 2) 1973 , passed at the joint sitting of Parliament in 1974. The change was instigated by the Whitlam Labor government . However, for various reasons, such as the constitutional requirement that Tasmania must have at least five lower house members, larger seats like Cowper (New South Wales) comprise almost double the electors of smaller seats like Solomon in
10200-403: Was that the decision would be made without "tumult and disorder", as it would be a broad-based one made simultaneously in various locales where the decision makers could deliberate reasonably, not in one place where decision makers could be threatened or intimidated. If the Electoral College did not achieve a decisive majority, then the House of Representatives was to choose the president from among
10302-463: Was to be made by a majority of the Electoral College, as majority rule is critical to the principles of republican government . Hamilton argued that electors meeting in the state capitals were able to have information unavailable to the general public, in a time before telecommunications. Hamilton also argued that since no federal officeholder could be an elector, none of the electors would be beholden to any presidential candidate. Another consideration
10404-499: Was upheld in Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris , 489 U.S. 688 (1989). Evenwel v. Abbott , 578 U.S. 2016, said states may use total population in drawing districts. In Australia , one vote, one value is a democratic principle, applied in electoral laws governing redistributions of electoral divisions of the House of Representatives . The principle calls for all electoral divisions to have
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