Electoral College and the Influence of Political Parties in the United States

History of the Electoral College: The Influence of Political Parties

Introduction to Electoral College and the Influence of Political Parties

Political parties have come to be the dominant factor in the process by which presidential electors are chosen. Members of the “slate” of electors pledged to vote for a party’s presidential candidate normally are chosen from among party activists. Often the party extracts a pledge from those running for elector that they will vote for the nominee of the convention. In Ray v Blair (1952), the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the right of political parties to require such a pledge. On the other hand, the Court has not accorded the two major parties the power to lock in their dominance to the point that the candidates of newly emerging parties are excluded altogether from access to the ballot. In Williams v Rhodes (1968), the Court invalidated Ohio statutes that made it virtually impossible for new political parties to be placed on the state ballot to choose presidential electors. Still, in 2004 the winner-take-all system remained in place in all states but two, making it difficult to challenge the power of the two established political parties.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Electoral College and the Influence of Political Parties in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Electoral College and the Influence of Political Parties

In this Section

Voting Rights, Voter Participation, Election Redistricting, Electoral College (including Electoral College Selection, Counting the Votes, Electoral College Origins, Electoral College First Years, Electoral College History and the 12th Amendment, Disputed Elections of 1824 and 1876, Electoral College and the Influence of Political Parties, Winner-Take-All System, Debate Over the Electoral College and Electoral College Reform), Electorate Age and Electorate Constitutional Provisions.