how was the president elected before the electoral college?
309010
Originally, the Electoral College provided the Constitutional Convention with a compromise between the popular election of the President and congressional selection. ... The 12th Amendment—ratified in 1804—changed the original process, allowing for separate ballots for determining the President and Vice President.
1408529
Incumbent President George Washington was elected to a second term by a unanimous vote in the electoral college, while John Adams was re-elected as vice president. Washington was essentially unopposed, but Adams faced a competitive re-election against Governor George Clinton of New York.
197122
The Vice President is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of Proportional Representation by means of the Single transferable vote and the voting is by secret ballot conducted by election commission.
1415032
The Electoral College was an ingenious compromise, allowing the popular election of the president, but on a state-by-state basis. Citizens vote for president, with the winner in each state taking all the state's electoral votes based on the number of seats that state has in the Senate and House combined.
72766
Electoral College (India) The President is indirectly elected by means of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of the Parliament of India and the Legislative assemblies of the States of India and the Union territories of Delhi, and Puducherry.
577398
Democratic-Republican Jefferson defeated Federalist John Adams by a margin of seventy-three to sixty-five electoral votes in the presidential election of 1800. When presidential electors cast their votes, however, they failed to distinguish between the office of president and vice president on their ballots.
778383
At the federal level, the nation's head of state, the president, is elected indirectly by the people of each state, through an Electoral College. ... The federal government has also been involved in attempts to increase voter turnout, by measures such as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
1057376
And though millions of Americans vote in a presidential election every four years, the President is not, in fact, directly elected by the people. Instead, on the first Tuesday in November of every fourth year, the people elect the members of the Electoral College.
422506
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, and an absolute majority of at least 270 electoral votes is required to win the election. ... States generally require electors to pledge to vote for that state's winner; to avoid faithless electors, most states have adopted various laws to enforce the elector's pledge.
612582
The presidential election of 1788–1789 was the first election of a federal head of state or head of government in United States history. ... Under the U.S. Constitution, the president was chosen by the Electoral College, which consisted of electors selected by each state.
991830
The election of the President goes to the House of Representatives. Each state delegation casts one vote for one of the top three contenders to determine a winner. Only two Presidential elections (1800 and 1824) have been decided in the House.
39129
Following an inconclusive Electoral College result, the House performed the constitutionally prescribed role of deciding the 1824 presidential election. Andrew Jackson of Tennessee had won the popular vote and commanded 99 electoral votes. ... On the appointed day, each state delegation got one vote.
2410
Instead, presidential elections use the Electoral College. To win the election, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes. In the event no candidate receives a majority, the House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president.
1369247
Tally of Electoral Votes for the 1800 Presidential Election. ... Because the Constitution did not distinguish between President and Vice-President in the votes cast by each state's electors in the Electoral College, both Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr received 73 votes.
641804
Instead, on the first Tuesday in November of every fourth year, the people elect the members of the Electoral College. Apportioned by population to the 50 states — one for each member of their congressional delegation (with the District of Columbia receiving 3 votes) — these Electors then cast the votes for President.
1068025
National majorities—The Electoral College creates a national majority for new presidents regardless of the popular vote margin. Reflecting the will of majorities in the fifty states, the College legitimizes the result.
37018
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received tie votes in the electoral collage, throwing the selection of President into the House of Representatives. The significance of the Twelfth Amendment is because it allows smaller states to have equal influence in the Electoral College.