ProCon’s Electoral College Quiz
- Question: Which is a common argument for keeping the Electoral College?
- Answer: All of these are common arguments for keeping the Electoral College.
- Question: How many times have presidential candidates won the Electoral College, and therefore the presidency, but lost the popular vote?
- Answer: Five U.S. presidents have won the Electoral College vote, and therefore the presidency, but lost the popular vote.
- Question: How many electors are in the Electoral College?
- Answer: The Electoral College has 538 electors: 535 represent the number of members in the U.S. Congress, and 3 are apportioned to Washington, D.C.
- Question: Each U.S. state is allowed how many electors in the Electoral College?
- Answer: Each state receives one elector for each of its members in the U.S. Congress.
- Question: Which entity established the Electoral College in 1788?
- Answer: The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the U.S. Constitution.
- Question: How many Electoral College votes are needed to win a presidential election?
- Answer: To win the presidency, a candidate must win a majority of the electoral votes (meaning, at a minimum, 270 votes, which is one vote more than half of the 538 total votes in the Electoral College).
- Question: Which is a common argument for abolishing the Electoral College?
- Answer: All of these are common arguments for abolishing the Electoral College.
- Question: Which would be needed to abolish the Electoral College?
- Answer: The Electoral College can be abolished only by an amendment to the U.S. Constitution: two-thirds of the U.S. Congress or states would have to propose the amendment, and then three-fourths of the states (38 of the 50) would have to ratify it.
