Lesson 7 of 7Module 1 · 0% of course
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Explore › Law & Government › How US Government Works › Structure
How US Government Works · Structure

Elections & the Electoral College

How Americans actually elect a president: 538 electors and the 270 threshold, why the framers chose it, winner-take-all and swing states, five popular-vote losers who won, contingent elections, small-state weighting, and reform ideas.

30 min · 6 steps · videoJump to quiz ↓
Alexandar Keyssar: Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? MassHistorical · 75 min
Open in YouTube
Step 1 of 6 · Overview30 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: The Constitution; Branches of government. Next: Parliamentary systems. Sources: U.S. Constitution Art. II and 12th & 23rd Amendments; Alexander Keyssar, *Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?* (2020); National Archives.
Next: 1. Mechanics

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