Electoral College

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The US Electoral College
(Information Station, YouTube, 2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdvHn7N3YM4&nohtml5=False
Just like we do every four years, America’s getting ready for another Presidential election. But did you know
your vote doesn’t go straight to your favorite candidate?
That’s because the United States has something called an Electoral College… it’s not a university… but a group
of people who do the electing for us. 538 of them to be exact.
If it’s been a long time since your last civics class, here’s a refresher course.
When our Founding Fathers were writing the Constitution, they decided they didn’t want an ill-informed
public to directly elect the President and Vice President, nor did they want to leave it up to Congress. Plus,
they wanted every state to have a role in national elections.
So the Founding Fathers came up with a system of “electors” - or pre-selected people from each state who
ultimately elect the President and Vice President.
The 538 “electors” are divided among the states according to each state’s representation in Congress: two
Senators per state plus the number of Representatives in each state.
For example, Florida has 29 electors, while North Carolina has 16, and Utah has 6. The candidate who wins the
popular vote in a given state gets all of that state’s electoral votes.
Back to the Florida example. The Presidential Ticket that wins the most popular votes in Florida wins all 29
electors - no matter if the candidates win by 5 votes, five thousand or even five million in Florida. This
happens in all the other states, except for Nebraska and Maine where it’s not winner-take-all for electors. Get
a majority of those votes - that’s 270 - to win. For more information, go to informationstation.org.
Vocabulary
01. America’s getting ready
02. To go straight to
03. A refresher course
04. Founding fathers
05. Ill-informed
06. To leave it up to Congress (to decide)
07. According to
08. While
09. To get all
10. Back to
11. The presidential ticket
12. No matter
13. Winner-take-all
14. To get
l’Amérique se prépare à
aller directement
un cours de remise à niveau
les pères fondateurs
mal informé, peu instruit
laisser le Congrès décider
selon, en function de
alors que
recevoir tout
de retour à
la plateforme présidentielle
peu importe
le gagnant prend tout
obtenir
page 2/3
The US Electoral College
(Information Station, YouTube, 2015)
Exercise: fill in the blanks with the correct words
Just like we do every four years, America’s g
r
(se prépare à)
election. But did you know your vote doesn’t go s
(directement)
for another Presidential
to your favorite candidate?
That’s because the United States has something called an Electoral College… it’s not a university… but a group
of people who do the electing for us. 538 of them to be exact.
If it’s been a long time since your last civics class, here’s a r
course.
(de remise à niveau)
fathers were writing the Constitution, they decided they didn’t want
When our f
(fondateurs)
an i
-informed public to directly elect the President and Vice President, nor did they
(mal, peu instruit)
want to l
i
u
(laisser decider)
to Congress. Plus, they wanted every state to have a role in national
elections.
So the Founding Fathers came up with a system of “electors” - or pre-selected people from each state who
ultimately elect the President and Vice President.
The 538 “electors” are divided among the states a
t
each state’s representation
(selon)
in Congress: two Senators per state plus the number of Representatives in each state.
For example, Florida has 29 electors, w
North Carolina has 16, and Utah has six.
(alors que)
The candidate who wins the popular vote in a given state g
all of that state’s
(reçoit)
electoral votes.
B
to our Florida example. The Presidential T
that wins the most popular votes
(de retour)
(plateforme)
page 3/3
in Florida wins all 29 electors – n
m
if the candidates win by 5 votes, five
(peu importe)
thousand or even five million. This happens in all the other states, except for
Nebraska and Maine where it’s not w
-t
-a
(le gagnant prend tout)
for electors. G
a majority of those
(obtenir)
votes - that’s 270 - to win. For more information, go to information.org.