How elections and campaigns work, from primaries to the Electoral College

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to E on three elections that the first count did not settle (the excerpts are exact; some lines are summaries in our words). Card A, "The 1800 election, National Archives". Who made it: the National Archives. When: read in 2026. For whom: the public. Why: to record the 1800 results. Excerpt 1: "Prior to ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, each elector was given two votes and required to cast each for a different person." Excerpt 2: "Jefferson and Burr tied with the highest number of electoral votes. The election was decided in the House of Representatives, with 10 State delegations voting for Jefferson, 4 voting for Burr and 2 making no choice." Card B, "The 1824 election, National Archives". Who made it: the National Archives. When: read in 2026. For whom: the public. Why: to record the 1824 results. Electoral votes (summary in our words): Andrew Jackson 99, John Quincy Adams 84, William H. Crawford 41, Henry Clay 37. Popular-vote figures for 1824 leave out six states, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, South Carolina and Vermont, where legislatures chose the electors (Wikipedia, citing Dave Leip's Atlas). Excerpt: "Because no candidate for President was elected by the people, the election was decided by the House of Representatives." Card C, "The 1876 election, National Archives". Who made it: the National Archives. When: read in 2026. For whom: the public. Why: to record the 1876 results. Excerpt: "The electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina were disputed. Congress referred the matter to the Electoral Commission, which it established for the sole purpose of determining the winner of the election. The Electoral Commission gave the decision to Rutherford B. Hayes." Card D, "The Twelfth Amendment (1804)". Who made it: Congress proposed it and the states ratified it. When: ratified June 15, 1804. For whom: the electors, the House and the Senate. Why: to fix how electors vote and what happens when no one has a majority. Excerpt 1: "they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President" Excerpt 2: "from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President" Card E, "Chiafalo v. Washington (2020)". Who made it: Justice Elena Kagan, for the Court. When: 2020. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to explain why the Twelfth Amendment was written. Excerpt: "Remember that the Amendment grew out of a pair of fiascos—the election of two then-bitter rivals as President and Vice President, and the tie vote that threw the next election into the House."

2. 1.

   Esme compares cards A to C. Which pattern fits all three elections: 1800, 1824 and 1876?

   • The first count did not settle the result, and a body outside the electors, the House or an Electoral Commission, decided
   • In each election the House of Representatives voted by state delegations to decide the winner among the leading candidates
   • In each election the result was decided under the rules that the Twelfth Amendment set up in 1804 for such cases
   • In each election the candidate with the most electoral votes lost the presidency to a rival who had fewer electoral votes
3. 2.

   Jun reads cards A, D and E. What would the Twelfth Amendment's ballot rule have changed about 1800?

   • Separate ballots would have let electors give Jefferson more votes for President than Burr, ending the 73 to 73 tie
   • It would have kept Burr out of the House vote, because just the top three may go there
   • The tie would have gone to the Senate, since the Senate chooses when electors give two candidates the same total
   • It would have ended House elections, since separate ballots guarantee a majority for one candidate in each state's count

4. Use this

   Cards A to D on what the electors were meant to do (the excerpts are exact; card D is in our words). Card A, "The Federalist No. 68 (1788)". Who made it: Alexander Hamilton, writing as Publius. When: March 14, 1788. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to defend the plan for choosing a President. Excerpt 1: "It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any preestablished body, but to men chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture." Excerpt 2: "A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations." Card B, "Chiafalo v. Washington (2020)". Who made it: Justice Elena Kagan, for the Court. When: 2020. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether a state may bind its electors to the state's vote. Excerpt 1: "The Electors and their amici object that the Framers using those words expected the Electors' votes to reflect their own judgments." Excerpt 2: "The Twelfth Amendment embraced this new reality—both acknowledging and facilitating the Electoral College's emergence as a mechanism not for deliberation but for party-line voting." Excerpt 3: "By allowing the electors to vote separately for the two offices, the Twelfth Amendment made party-line voting safe." Card C, "McPherson v. Blacker (1892)". Who made it: Chief Justice Melville Fuller, for the Court. When: 1892. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether electors may be chosen by districts. Excerpt: "the act of appointment is none the less the act of the state in its entirety because arrived at by districts" Card D, "Two readings". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Reading X: the Framers meant electors to judge freely, as a small group chosen for discernment. Reading Y: the Framers meant electors to carry out the choice of the people who appointed them. These readings are written for this sheet and are not from any historian.

5. 3.

   Tala asks which of the two readings on card D Hamilton's essay on card A supports best.

   • Reading Y alone: Hamilton wants men chosen just to carry out the people's choice, with no judgment of their own
   • Both in part: the people's sense should operate, yet through a few chosen persons selected for discernment
   • Reading X alone: Hamilton wants a small group with the information and discernment to judge, and the people have no further role
   • Neither: Hamilton's essay is about the right of the people to choose electors by district, not about their role
6. 4.

   The Electors on card B say the Amendment's words guarantee free judgment. Luz looks for the strongest reply. Which is it?

   • Because electors are appointed by the state, a state may do anything to them, and the Amendment's words add nothing
   • The Constitution forbids pledges, which is why the Court must read the Amendment's words as a ban on state pledge laws
   • Card A shows that electors have no duties beyond counting votes, so the Amendment's words matter little to them
   • The Amendment's own history: it was written to allow party-line voting, so "vote by ballot" cannot guarantee free choice
7. 5.

   A writer says Hamilton's essay on card A proves the Framers wanted electors who judge freely. Zee tests the claim. What is the best verdict?

   • Weakly supported: one essay urging ratification in 1788, before the Amendment, which also wants the people's sense to operate
   • Refuted: Hamilton also wrote that the people's sense should operate, so he could not have wanted any free judgment whatever
   • Shown: card B shows that electors in 1788 voted freely until the Amendment changed practice in 1804, as Hamilton hoped
   • Shown: Hamilton wrote that electors would have the information and discernment to judge, so the Framers expected free judgment

8. Use this

   Cards A to C on party primaries (the excerpts are exact; card C is made up). Card A, "California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000)". Who made it: Justice Antonin Scalia, for the Court. When: 2000. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether California could let all voters pick any party's nominee in one primary. Excerpt 1: "the First Amendment protects the freedom to join together in furtherance of common political beliefs, … which necessarily presupposes the freedom to identify the people who constitute the association, and to limit the association to those people only" Excerpt 2: "a corollary of the right to associate is the right not to associate." Card B, "Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party (2008)". Who made it: Justice Clarence Thomas, for the Court. When: 2008. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether Washington could let the top two finishers in a primary advance, with each candidate naming a party preference. Excerpt 1: "California's blanket primary, we concluded, severely burdened the parties' freedom of association because it forced them to allow nonmembers to participate in selecting the parties' nominees." Excerpt 2: "There is simply no basis to presume that a well-informed electorate will interpret a candidate's party-preference designation to mean that the candidate is the party's chosen nominee or representative or that the party associates with or approves of the candidate." Excerpt 3: "Claims of facial invalidity often rest on speculation." Card C, "State K and Party Z". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A made-up State K lets every candidate run on one primary ballot, listing a party preference of the candidate's own choosing. Every voter may vote for any candidate, and the top two finishers advance to the general election whatever their party. Party Z says the law forces it to share its nominee choice with outsiders, and sues before the first election.

9. 6.

   Kira answers the State's reply for Party Z. Using cards B and C, which is Z's strongest answer?

   • Jones decided that any ballot where outsiders may vote for a party's candidate is unconstitutional, so K's law fails
   • Z has the right not to associate, so it may block any candidate who lists Z as a party preference on the ballot
   • The Court rejected a pre-election challenge on speculation about voters; Z could still show real voter confusion later
   • The Court held that no party-preference label can ever suggest a party's nominee, so Z has no further claim whatever
10. 7.

    Bo asks what missing evidence would most help Party Z. Which should Z look for?

    • Statements by Z's members that they dislike the new ballot design, gathered at a meeting of the party
    • Surveys after an election showing many voters took the top-two winners who listed Z to be Z's chosen nominees
    • Counts of how many candidates listed Z as their party preference in the first election held under the law
    • The share of voters in State K who are registered as members of Z, taken from the state's voter rolls

11. Use this

    Cards A and B on a House vote by states (card A is exact; card B is data). Card A, "The Twelfth Amendment (1804)". Who made it: Congress proposed it and the states ratified it. When: ratified June 15, 1804. For whom: the electors, the House and the Senate. Why: to fix how electors vote and what happens when no one has a majority. Excerpt: "in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice." Card B, "One-seat states and big states, House of Representatives". Who made it: the US Census Bureau. When: 2020 Census. For whom: the public. Why: to show how seats and people are spread among states. Data and note: Apportionment population and Representatives. Six states have one Representative each: Alaska 736,081 people; Delaware 990,837; North Dakota 779,702; South Dakota 887,770; Vermont 643,503; Wyoming 577,719. Together these six states hold 4,615,612 people. California has 39,576,757 people and 52 Representatives; Texas 29,183,290 and 38. All 50 states together hold 331,108,434 people and 435 Representatives.

12. 8.

    Pia compares the six one-seat states on card B with the whole country under card A. Which statement does the data support best?

    • They hold 6 of 435 House seats, about 1.4 percent, so their votes in the House vote match their share of the population
    • They hold 6 of 50 state votes, 12 percent, for about 1.4 percent of the people, so each person weighs about nine times as much
    • They carry less weight than their people, because each has just one Representative to count among the 435 seats in the House
    • They hold six states, enough to block any election, since the six together can deny the quorum of two thirds of the states
13. 9.

    Card A requires members from two-thirds of 50 states for a quorum. Milo asks how many states can block a vote by staying away. Which statement is best?

    • Only the three largest states can block it, since they hold the most members of the House
    • A bloc of 26 states is needed, since a majority of the states is what a choice requires
    • A bloc of 16 states can block it, since 34 of 50 is two thirds and 16 away leaves exactly 34
    • A bloc of 17 states can block it: 34 states must be present, and with 17 away only 33 remain

14. Use this

    Cards A and B on House elections (card A is exact; card B has exact lines). Card A, "The 1800 and 1824 elections, National Archives". Who made it: the National Archives. When: read in 2026. For whom: the public. Why: to record the two elections. Excerpt 1: "Jefferson and Burr tied with the highest number of electoral votes. The election was decided in the House of Representatives, with 10 State delegations voting for Jefferson, 4 voting for Burr and 2 making no choice." Excerpt 2: "Because no candidate for President was elected by the people, the election was decided by the House of Representatives." Card B, "A made-up writer". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A made-up writer argues that the House contingent rule hardly matters, because in all the presidential elections from 1788 on only two, 1800 and 1824, were decided in the House.

15. 10.

    The writer on card B says the contingent rule hardly matters. Ari looks for the evidence that would most challenge the writer. Which is it?

    • Whether candidates or parties shaped plans to avoid or win a House vote in elections that never reached it
    • Whether the House picked the electoral-vote leader in both of the two House elections, 1800 and 1824
    • How many elections have been held since 1824 compared with the number held before 1800, with turnout figures
    • Whether the 12 delegations that voted for Jefferson in 1800 included any with a split delegation inside them