Population shifts alter electoral college votes.Americans move around a lot. Each year, thousands of families and individuals pack their bags and move from one state to another for employment or personal reasons. Whatever the reason, population shifts produce changes in the number of Electoral College electoral college, in U.S. government, the body of electors that chooses the president and vice president. The Constitution, in Article 2, Section 1, provides: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, votes different states are allotted al·lot tr.v. al·lot·ted, al·lot·ting, al·lots 1. To parcel out; distribute or apportion: allotting land to homesteaders; allot blame. 2. . Because there are only 538 electoral votes, a rise in one state's population means votes have to be taken away from states that lose population. Since the 2000 election, the populations of 18 states have changed. And that population shift may be working in President Bush's favor. If Bush wins all the states he won in the 2000 election, he will get seven more Electoral College votes than he did in the 2000 election because population growth in those states has increased the number of electoral votes allotted to them. This bar graph identifies the 18 states whose population has shifted enough since the last presidential election to result in gains for some states and losses in other states. Use the data in the graph to answer the questions on the right. 1. Three states had the greatest increase in Electoral College votes since the 2000 election. Name the states and the number of votes they gained. --,--, and--each gained-- votes in the Electoral College. 2. The Electoral College votes allotted to three states in 2004 added up to almost exactly 45 percent of the 270 votes needed to win the presidency. Which three states are they? --,--, and--. 3. In the 1988 presidential election, Nebraska, a state not shown on the graph, had one-third as many Electoral College votes as Georgia Georgia, country, Asia Georgia (jôr`jə), Georgian Sakartvelo, Rus. Gruziya, officially Republic of Georgia, republic (2005 est. pop. 4,677,000), c.26,900 sq mi (69,700 sq km), in W Transcaucasia. does today. How many votes did Nebraska have in 1988? -- 4. Ohio had the same number of Electoral Cortege votes in 2000 as the states of --and--have in 2004. 5. Florida has long experienced a surge in its population. How many Electoral Cortege votes would Florida be entitled en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: to if its vote entitlement An individual's right to receive a value or benefit provided by law. Commonly recognized entitlements are benefits, such as those provided by Social Security or Workers' Compensation. rose by 10 percent?--votes. (Round up.) 6. Two states in the Northeast have each lost two electoral votes since 2000. One of these is--,with --votes in 2004. The other is --,with--votes in 2004. 7. RESEARCH: Use the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the or another source to research your state's population. The U.S. Census tally for your state in 1990 was--. The Census tally for your state in 2000 was --. Answer Key 1. Florida, Georgia, Texas; two votes. 2. California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). , New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , and Texas; two votes. 3. 5 votes. 4. Illinois and Pennsylvania. 5. 30 votes. 6. New York, with 31 votes and Pennsylvania, with 21 votes. 7 Answers will vary by state. |
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