TOPICS #35-37 — THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL PARTIES, AND PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS
Q1. Why did the framers of the Constitution set up the “Electoral College” system for electing the President? How was it intended to work? And why did it never work as intended?
Q2. How did the early formation of political parties transform presidential selection from a relatively “elitist” process into a mass popular election (with a special voting counting rule)?
Q3. How has the party Presidential nominating process evolved more recently from a somewhat “elitist” process into nomination by (indirect) Presidential primary elections?
Electoral College (Article II, Section 1-2)
intermediate electors
double-vote system
contingent procedure
12th Amendment
transformation of the electoral college
pledged electors
popularly elected electors
general ticket system
two-party system
presidential nominations
Congressional caucus (1796-1828)
national convention (introduced in 1832)
party-dominant nominating process (1832-1908)
Presidential primaries (introduced in 1912)
mixed nominating process (1912-1968)
"party reform" (introduced in 1972)
candidate-dominant nominating process (1972 - ??)