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The U.S. Electoral College Trivia Quiz

After the election of 2000, more people became aware of the electoral college. How much do you know about it? There will be several questions regarding the electoral college in general and some regarding the election of 2000.

A multiple-choice quiz by starman71. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
starman71

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
86,466

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
20

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
13 / 20

Plays
1862

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 20

1. In 2000, how many electors were to vote in the electoral college? Hint

540

It depends on the turnout of the voters

270

538

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Question 2 of 20

2. Who had the highest popular vote in the 2000 presidential election? Hint

George W. Bush

Al Gore

Ralph Nader

Bill Maher

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Question 3 of 20

3. When do the *Electoral College* voters elect the President? Hint

It is up to the Vice-President's discretion.

First Tuesday following the first Monday in November

First Monday following the second Wednesday in December

January 20

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Question 4 of 20

4. After Gore conceded the election, news stations reported that the final electoral tally was that Bush had 271 and Gore had 267. Why did this end up not being the final electoral count? Hint

One elector who was pledged to vote for Gore abstained as a protest.

Since Gore really won the popular vote, he got an additional 3 "super-delegates" and ended up losing by only one vote.

One elector pledged to vote for Gore was disqualified because she was not a U.S. citizen.

The plane carrying New Mexico's 5 electors was delayed by bad weather on their way to Washington and they arrived too late to vote.

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Question 5 of 20

5. Which of these states gave Bush the victory? Hint

All of the ones listed here.

Alabama

Florida

Utah

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Question 6 of 20

6. Which groups are most likely to claim that electing a president by means of the electoral college is unfair? (Note: When speaking of small and large states, I am referring to population) Hint

Democrats and those living in small states.

Republicans and those living in small states.

Republicans and those living in large states.

Democrats and those living in large states.

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Question 7 of 20

7. Before Bush-Gore what was the last race where it was definite that that the winner of the popular vote lost the election? Hint

1948-- Harry Truman beat Thomas Dewey

1968-- Richard Nixon beat Hubert Humphrey

1888-- Benjamin Harrison beat Grover Cleveland

1796-- John Adams beat Thomas Jefferson

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Question 8 of 20

8. Through the 2000 election (but not including 2004), who was the last presidential candidate to win a majority of the popular vote? Hint

Bill Clinton

George Bush Sr.

Al Gore

George W. Bush

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Question 9 of 20

9. What were the six states that Gore won that had at least 15 electoral votes each? Hint

California, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts

California, New York, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan

California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania

California, New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Illinois, Pennsylvania

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Question 10 of 20

10. In 2000, what were the only two states that did not operate under the "winner-take-all" method of allocating electoral votes? Hint

Rhode Island and California

Florida and Wisconsin

Nebraska and Maine

New Hampshire and New York

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Question 11 of 20

11. How is the number of electors for each US state determined? Hint

Based precisely on population

The number of House Members plus the number of Senators

By the order in which the state came into the union

The Democrats and Republicans sit down with a map before the election and figure it out

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Question 12 of 20

12. In light of the 2000 census results, how would they affect the 2004 election if Bush and Gore ran again and they each carried the exact same states? Hint

Bush would win the election and have 7 more electoral votes than in 2000.

Bush would have 3 less electors and lose the election.

The census does not affect the electoral college.

The census reveals that the results would be identical.

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Question 13 of 20

13. Why did John Quincy Adams receive 1 electoral vote in the election of 1820? Hint

An elector from Louisiana accidentally circled the wrong name on the ballot.

John Adams wanted to cast a vote for his son.

One elector did not want James Monroe to sweep the electoral college.

John Quincy Adams paid an elector to cast a vote for him so he would look good for 1824.

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Question 14 of 20

14. Which of the following is not an argument to abolish the electoral college? Hint

The electoral college increases the likelihood of messy recounts like we had in Florida in 2000.

In the electoral college system, the House of Representatives could decide the presidency instead of the people.

The electoral college could give the presidency to a candidate who did not win the popular vote.

The electoral college discourages third party candidates.

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Question 15 of 20

15. After 1968, measures to abolish the electoral college reached an all time high. Why? Hint

Voters realized that they had just voted Tricky Dick into the White House and wanted to prevent it from happening again.

Voters wanted to prevent someone like George Wallace from having a strong showing in the election.

Since we were trying to model good government to Vietnam, we wanted to make it simple.

Congressional leaders met George W. Bush during his "experimental" phase and wanted to prevent him from ever becoming president.

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Question 16 of 20

16. Through the 2000 election (but not including 2004), who is the only person who lost the presidency even though he had more popular votes than anyone and more electoral votes than anyone? Hint

Al Gore

Andrew Jackson

John Adams

Grover Cleveland

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Question 17 of 20

17. Which race saw several slates of electors contested, controversy, threats, corrupt deals, and no president chosen until two days before inauguration day? Hint

1900- William McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan

1876 - Rutherford Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden

1840 - William Henry Harrison vs. Martin Van Buren

1888 - Benjamin Harrison vs. Grover Cleveland

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Question 18 of 20

18. Which slogan does not refer to the electoral crisis of 2000? Hint

The President-Select

Sore Loserman

It's the economy, stupid

Hail to the Thief

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Question 19 of 20

19. What anomaly of the electoral college existed until it was changed after the election of 1800? Hint

Vermont and Kentucky did not get any electoral votes because they were not original colonies.

English aristocracy had three electors reserved for them.

Electors could vote only for candidates who hailed from their respective states.

The candidate who came in second was declared vice-president.

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Question 20 of 20

20. In order to replace the electoral college with another system, what must happen? Hint

Two-thirds of the House must approve the plan, followed by two-thirds of the Senate, and three-fourths of the states.

Three-fourths of the Senate must agree to have a national election in order to determine the will of the people.

A majority of the House must approve the plan, followed by a majority of the Senate and approval of the president.

The Republican National Committee and The Democratic National Committee must agree to another system at least one calendar year before the presidential election.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 2000, how many electors were to vote in the electoral college?

Answer: 538

A candidate must have over half the electors in order to win. Half of 538 is 269. One more than that is 270, which is needed to win.

2. Who had the highest popular vote in the 2000 presidential election?

Answer: Al Gore

Gore barely edged out Bush in the popular, but Bush had a higher electoral vote.

3. When do the *Electoral College* voters elect the President?

Answer: First Monday following the second Wednesday in December

So the electors cast their ballots more than a month after the general population votes.

4. After Gore conceded the election, news stations reported that the final electoral tally was that Bush had 271 and Gore had 267. Why did this end up not being the final electoral count?

Answer: One elector who was pledged to vote for Gore abstained as a protest.

One elector from Washington D.C. abstained as a protest that D.C. is not represented in Congress. The final vote was Bush with 271, and Gore with 266.

5. Which of these states gave Bush the victory?

Answer: All of the ones listed here.

All of the states that Bush won were critical for his victory. If he lost any of the 30 states that he had won, he would have lost the election. The fact that Florida was called last by the media is irrelevant. He had in fact won it the second that the polls closed.

6. Which groups are most likely to claim that electing a president by means of the electoral college is unfair? (Note: When speaking of small and large states, I am referring to population)

Answer: Democrats and those living in large states.

Smaller states benefit from the electoral college. A voter in Wyoming has a much greater chance of affecting the election than a voter in California. Even though California has a huge amount of electoral votes, it also has a huge amount of voters. Proportionately, the states with low electoral votes are better off having the electoral college.

This favors states in the Rocky Mountains, Midwest, and Deep South, where the Democrats don't do so well. The Democrats are usually for gun control and welfare which turns off many voters in these states.

7. Before Bush-Gore what was the last race where it was definite that that the winner of the popular vote lost the election?

Answer: 1888-- Benjamin Harrison beat Grover Cleveland

President Cleveland came back four years later and won a second non-consecutive term. Many historians believe that the reason he lost in 1888 was that he promised economic reforms to southern states that turned off northern voters. Cleveland racked up huge numbers in the south but was crushed in the electoral college.

8. Through the 2000 election (but not including 2004), who was the last presidential candidate to win a majority of the popular vote?

Answer: George Bush Sr.

This was a trick question. Al Gore did not win a majority of the popular vote. He didn't win more than 50 percent. In fact since 1844 when accurate records of popular votes were kept, 18 times a president has been elected without winning a majority of the popular vote.

They are: James Polk (1844), Zachary Taylor (1848), Franklin Pierce (1852), James Buchanan (1856), Abraham Lincoln (1860), Rutherford Hayes (1876), James Garfield (1880), Grover Cleveland (1884), Benjamin Harrison (1888), Grover Cleveland (1892), Woodrow Wilson (1912), Woodrow Wilson (1916), Harry Truman (1948), John F. Kennedy (1960), Richard Nixon (1968), Bill Clinton (1992), Bill Clinton (1996), and George W. Bush (2000).

This puts a serious kink in the plans of those who want to abolish the electoral college because oftentimes nobody even wins a majority of the popular vote.

9. What were the six states that Gore won that had at least 15 electoral votes each?

Answer: California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania

Bush only won three states with fifteen or more electoral votes (Texas, Ohio, and Florida).

10. In 2000, what were the only two states that did not operate under the "winner-take-all" method of allocating electoral votes?

Answer: Nebraska and Maine

48 states and D.C. operate under the "winner-take-all" method, which means that whoever wins the plurality of the vote in that state gets all of the electoral votes. Maine has 4 electoral votes, of which they give one to the winner of each congressional district that they have (which is two) and two for whoever wins the state. (Nebraska does the same thing but they have 5 electoral votes.) So in theory, Gore could have won 3 Maine electors, but Bush 1 if he led Gore in a particular district. Gore won all of Maine's 4 votes, though. Opponents of the electoral college like the split system because it seems to be more representative.

For example, California's 54 electoral votes went to Gore because he won the state, but in a split system, maybe Gore would get 30 and Bush 24 because that's closer to how the vote turned out proportionately.

The thing is though, if one state wants to change the way they do it, the other states are not bound to follow suit. This is why most states leave it the way that it is because they do not want their own electors to cancel each other out.

11. How is the number of electors for each US state determined?

Answer: The number of House Members plus the number of Senators

Every state gets at least three because every state has at least one congressman plus two senators. D.C. automatically gets three as they don't have any senators.

12. In light of the 2000 census results, how would they affect the 2004 election if Bush and Gore ran again and they each carried the exact same states?

Answer: Bush would win the election and have 7 more electoral votes than in 2000.

Bush would have more room for error this time around. Even if he were to lose one or two of the small states that he won in 2000, he could still win the election if he won the rest of the same states that he did.

13. Why did John Quincy Adams receive 1 electoral vote in the election of 1820?

Answer: One elector did not want James Monroe to sweep the electoral college.

The elector wanted George Washington to be the only president ever to be honored with a unanimous vote, so he voted for John Quincy Adams.

14. Which of the following is not an argument to abolish the electoral college?

Answer: The electoral college increases the likelihood of messy recounts like we had in Florida in 2000.

Obviously, it is possible for a candidate to win the presidency even though they have less popular votes. Also, the electoral college does discourage third party candidates. (When was the last time you remember a third party getting any electoral votes?) But if for some reason a third party candidate does manage to get some electoral votes and no candidate has a majority, it could be thrown to the House of Representatives.

The one that is not a good argument is the recount one, because imagine what a mess we would have had if popular votes and not electoral votes counted. We would have recounts in every precinct in every state in the nation.

There would be pregnant chads everywhere!

15. After 1968, measures to abolish the electoral college reached an all time high. Why?

Answer: Voters wanted to prevent someone like George Wallace from having a strong showing in the election.

George Wallace won several southern states on a platform that many considered racist. Fear spread that his states' rights platform could spread to more states than the south, even though the majority of Americans were opposed to his policies.

16. Through the 2000 election (but not including 2004), who is the only person who lost the presidency even though he had more popular votes than anyone and more electoral votes than anyone?

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson had a higher popular vote count and a higher electoral vote count but lost the election of 1824 because there were four fairly even matched candidates and so Jackson did not have a majority. Therefore, the House decided the election and voted for John Quincy Adams. Jackson came back 4 years later and won.

17. Which race saw several slates of electors contested, controversy, threats, corrupt deals, and no president chosen until two days before inauguration day?

Answer: 1876 - Rutherford Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden

There were two different slates of electors turned in for Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. A huge constitutional crisis erupted and corruption and bargains allowed Hayes to be chosen president.

18. Which slogan does not refer to the electoral crisis of 2000?

Answer: It's the economy, stupid

"It's the economy, stupid" refers to the 1992 campaign when people were upset about the way George H.W. Bush handled domestic affairs.

19. What anomaly of the electoral college existed until it was changed after the election of 1800?

Answer: The candidate who came in second was declared vice-president.

Each elector cast one vote for president and one vote for vice-president. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and his proposed running mate Aaron Burr each received the same number of votes. Then it had to go to the House but Burr refused to yield. He decided he wanted to be president. After numerous deadlocked votes, Jefferson finally won.

20. In order to replace the electoral college with another system, what must happen?

Answer: Two-thirds of the House must approve the plan, followed by two-thirds of the Senate, and three-fourths of the states.

Since the electoral college is in the Constitution, it would take a constitutional amendment in order to change it or repeal it. Over 700 proposed amendments to modify or abolish the electoral college have been offered to the House and some have even got the two-thirds vote to proceed before the Senate.

But they have all died in the Senate and they would be absolutely crushed by the states if they ever got that far. Since three-fourths of the states have to ratify the proposed amendment, this means that it takes only 13 states to kill it.

There are easily 13 states with small populations who do not want to give up the enormous power that they have. The electoral college is here to stay.

Source: Author starman71

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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