A2 G&P 2016/17
Welcome back!!!
As per last year, you will now only cover two topics per unit, meaning these are the only ones you can address in an exam. I have chosen these optioons as I feel these will provide you with the best return and that you will also learn more in general about US politics. It will also allows us much more focus on specifics, examples, answer structure, exam technique and, importantly, activity and exercises. So, relax and embrace this new topic - US politics really is fascinating. Enjoy and let's get across the finish line in June 2017!!
US Presidential Election 2016 - The Electoral College
This Electoral College map is a handy guide when you watch the POTUS Election results come in this November.
Basically, each of the 50 states plus Washington DC has a numeric value (Electors aka Electoral College Votes - ECVs) attached to it. Trump or Clinton need to accululate a combination adding up to 270 or more to become POTUS. As in UK election constituencies, some states are safe (Red-Republican/ Blue - Democrat) so we can predict a good number for each. The path to 270 gets interesting when we consider the states up for grabs and that we can't call either way - the swing states (aka toss-up or battleground states). Thius is where the election can be won or lost and can expect Clinton and Trump to do most of their campaigning and spend most of their $$$$$!
Basically, each of the 50 states plus Washington DC has a numeric value (Electors aka Electoral College Votes - ECVs) attached to it. Trump or Clinton need to accululate a combination adding up to 270 or more to become POTUS. As in UK election constituencies, some states are safe (Red-Republican/ Blue - Democrat) so we can predict a good number for each. The path to 270 gets interesting when we consider the states up for grabs and that we can't call either way - the swing states (aka toss-up or battleground states). Thius is where the election can be won or lost and can expect Clinton and Trump to do most of their campaigning and spend most of their $$$$$!