61-397: Massachusetts's 11th congressional district is an obsolete district that was active during three periods: 1795–1843, 1853–1863, and 1873–1993. The district was located in several different areas of the state. It was most recently eliminated in 1993 after the 1990 U.S. census . Its last congressman was Brian J. Donnelly . Notable persons elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from
122-513: 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 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
183-468: 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
244-405: 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
305-573: 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
366-533: 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 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
427-433: 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 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
488-708: Is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series . It was the first census to designate " Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander " as a racial group separate from Asians . The census was also the first census to be directed by a woman, Barbara Everitt Bryant . To increase black participation in the 1990 United States census, the bureau recruited Bill Cosby , Magic Johnson , Alfre Woodard , and Miss America Debbye Turner as spokespeople. The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series . Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from
549-760: 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 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
610-492: 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 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
671-458: 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, 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)
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#1732787905790732-530: The Census Bureau , determined the resident population of the United States to be 248,709,873, an increase of 9.8 percent over the 226,545,805 persons enumerated during the 1980 census . Approximately 16 percent of households received a "long form" of the 1990 census, which contained more than 100 questions. Full documentation on the 1990 census, including census forms and a procedural history,
793-584: 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 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
854-507: 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 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
915-407: 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
976-539: The National Historical Geographic Information System . Personally identifiable information will be available in 2062. This was the first census since 1880 in which Chicago was not the second-largest city, having been overtaken by Los Angeles . As of the 2020 census , Los Angeles has remained the nation's second-largest city. The results of the 1990 census determined the number of seats that each state receives in
1037-526: 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 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
1098-589: The United States House of Representatives starting with the 1992 elections . Consequently, this affected the number of votes each state has in the Electoral College for the 1992 presidential election . Because of population changes, twenty-one states had changes in their number of seats. Eight states gained at least one seat, and thirteen states lost at least one seat. The final result involved 19 seats being switched. Electoral College (United States) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In
1159-1669: The 11th congressional district include John Quincy Adams following his term as president, John F. Kennedy prior to his term as president, and Tip O'Neill prior to his selection as Speaker of the House . 1893: Suffolk County: Boston, Wards 21, 22. 23, 25. "Middlesex County: City of Newton, towns of Belmont, Holliston, Sherborn, and Water- town. Norfolk County: Towns of Bellingham, Brookline, Dedham, Dover, Foxboro, Franklin, Hyde Park, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Needham, Norfolk, Norwood, Sharon, Walpole, and Wrentham. Bristol County: Town of North Attleboro. Worcester County: Towns of Hopedale and Milford." 1916: Suffolk County: Boston Wards 10, 11 (Precincts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), 12, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23. 1921: Boston (Wards 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23). 1941: Boston (Wards 1, 2, 3, 22), Cambridge, Somerville (Wards 1, 2, 3). 1968: "Norfolk County: City of Quincy. Towns of Avon, Braintree, Canton, Dedham, Holbrook, Milton, Norwood, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton, and Weymouth. Plymouth County: City of Brockton. Suffolk County: City of Boston: Ward 18." 1977: "Norfolk County: City of Quincy. Towns of Avon, Braintree, Holbrook, Milton, Randolph, and Stoughton. Plymouth County: City of Brockton. Towns of Abington and Whitman. Suffolk County: City of Boston: Wards 15, 16, 17, 18." 1985: "Norfolk County: City of Quincy. Towns of Avon, Braintree, Holbrook, Milton, Randolph, and Weymouth. Plymouth County: City of Brockton. Towns of Abington, East Bridgewater, Rockland, West Bridgewater, and Whitman. Suffolk County: City of Boston: Wards 15, 16, 17, and 18." 1990 U.S. census The 1990 United States census , conducted by
1220-425: 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 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
1281-766: 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
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#17327879057901342-424: The Electoral College had been decided on, several delegates (Mason, Butler, Morris, Wilson, and Madison) openly recognized its ability to protect 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
1403-502: 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
1464-556: 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
1525-455: 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
1586-534: 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
1647-416: 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 the original plan by which the electors voted for president. Under
1708-402: 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
1769-403: 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 the top five candidates, ensuring selection of a presiding officer administering the laws would have both ability and good character. Hamilton
1830-678: 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 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
1891-543: 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 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
Massachusetts's 11th congressional district - Misplaced Pages Continue
1952-423: 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
2013-417: 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
2074-408: 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 the Electoral College with some consideration for states. At the compromise providing for a runoff among the top five candidates,
2135-427: 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
2196-587: 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
2257-593: 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
2318-569: 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 the name "Electoral College" came into general usage as
2379-408: 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 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
2440-454: 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
2501-503: 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 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
Massachusetts's 11th congressional district - Misplaced Pages Continue
2562-454: 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 the Framers of
2623-551: 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
2684-605: The proposal given the prevalence of slavery in the South: There was one difficulty, however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by 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
2745-561: 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 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
2806-456: 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 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
2867-466: 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 the Federalist No. 10 that
2928-485: 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,
2989-497: 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 the Constitution was designed to be a mixture of state-based and population-based government. Congress would have two houses:
3050-503: 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
3111-429: 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
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#17327879057903172-437: 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 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
3233-473: 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
3294-484: 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 the Electoral College. The electors come directly from the people and them alone, for that purpose only, and for that time only. This avoided
3355-445: 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 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
3416-617: 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,
3477-483: 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
3538-474: 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 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
3599-591: 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 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
3660-535: 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 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
3721-492: 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 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
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