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{{short description|Set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office}}
{{About|electoral colleges in general|the American electoral college|United States Electoral College|other uses|Electoral college (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Elections}}
An '''electoral college''' is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a [[constitutional body]] that appoints the head of state or [[Head of government|government]], and sometimes the [[Upper house|upper parliamentary chamber]], in a democracy. Its members, called ''electors'', are elected either by the people for this purpose (making the whole process an [[indirect election]]) or by certain subregional entities or social organizations.
If a constituent body that is not only summoned for this particular task, like a parliament, elects or appoints certain officials, it is not referred to as "electoral college" (see e.g. [[parliamentary system]]). Also, other appointing bodies (like committees appointing judges, as in [[Judicial appointments in Canada|Canada]] or [[Richterwahlausschuss|Germany]]) normally do not fall into this definition.
==Examples==
=== United States ===
The [[United States Electoral College]] is the only remaining electoral college in democracies where an executive president (a head of state who is also head of government) is indirectly elected via an electoral college.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Ziblatt |first1=Daniel |author-link1=Daniel Ziblatt |last2=Levitsky |first2=Steven |author-link2=Steven Levitsky |date=5 September 2023 |title=How American Democracy Fell So Far Behind |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/american-constitution-norway/675199/ |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Collin |first1=Richard Oliver |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-vSlx-_Z408C&pg=PA244 |title=An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet |last2=Martin |first2=Pamela L. |date=1 January 2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781442218031 |pages=244 |language=en}}</ref> The other democracies that used an electoral college for these elections switched to direct elections in the 19th or 20th century.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Levitsky |first1=Steven |title=Tyranny of the Minority: why American democracy reached the breaking point |last2=Ziblatt |first2=Daniel |date=2023 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-593-44307-1 |edition=First |___location=New York}}</ref><sup>:215</sup>
The electoral college is argued to be fundamental to American federalism. It is based on the notion that it requires candidates for president to appeal to voters in all states, or a substantial portion of states, rather than only those with large population which might hold greater power in elections based on simple majority. [[Federalist No. 68]], probably written by [[Alexander Hamilton]], argued in favor of the electoral college by stating:
:Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single state; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States.
Another argument states that the Electoral College prevents a [[tyranny of the majority]] that would ignore the less densely populated heartland and rural states in favor of the mega-cities.<ref name="RuralStates">[https://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/2020/12/02/electoral-college-needed-commentary-sid-salter/6428483002/ Efforts to abolish the Electoral College will dilute the influence of nation’s rural states] by Sid Salter, guest columnist for the Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS), 2 December 2020.</ref>
==== Criticism ====
{{Excerpt|United States Electoral College # Efforts to abolish or reform}}
=== Pakistan ===
The [[President of Pakistan]] is indirectly elected by the [[Electoral College of Pakistan]], consisting the members of [[Parliament of Pakistan]] and [[Provincial assemblies of Pakistan]].
=== India ===
The [[President of India]] is indirectly elected by the [[Electoral College (India)|Indian Electoral College]] consisting of the elected members of the [[Parliament of India]] and the [[State legislative assemblies of India|legislative assemblies]] of the [[States and union territories of India|states]] and [[Union territory|union territories]].
=== Germany ===
The German [[Federal Convention (Germany)|''Bundesversammlung'']] has no other purpose than to elect the [[Federal President of Germany]]. It is composed half by the members of the [[Bundestag]] and half by representatives delegated by the [[State Parliaments of Germany|state parliaments]].
=== Italy ===
The [[President of Italy]] is elected by an electoral college which comprises both chambers of the [[Italian Parliament]] meeting in [[joint session]], combined with 58 special electors appointed by the [[Regional council (Italy)|regional councils]] of the 20 [[regions of Italy]].
=== Holy See ===
The pope, who is head of the [[Catholic Church]], the [[Holy See]], and the [[Vatican City State]], is elected by a [[papal conclave]] consisting of all [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinals]] under the age of 80.
=== France ===
While the [[President of France]] is directly elected, the [[Senate (France)|Senate]] is [[French senate elections|indirectly elected]] by ''collèges électoraux'' in the French regions. They consist of 150,000 delegates, known as the ''grands électeurs'', who are mainly appointed by municipal [[councillor]]s.
===Guernsey===
The [[States of Election]] has only one purpose, to elect a new [[Jurat]] to the Courts in [[Guernsey]].
== Historic examples ==
The following examples are of electoral colleges used by democracies or dictatorships that were replaced by other mechanisms of election like direct elections during periods of [[democratization|democratisation]].
=== Americas ===
Before 1840, all presidents in Latin America were indirectly elected by legislatures or electoral colleges.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Levitsky |first1=Steven |title=Tyranny of the Minority: why American democracy reached the breaking point |last2=Ziblatt |first2=Daniel |date=2023 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-593-44307-1 |edition=First |___location=New York}}</ref><sup>:202</sup>
==== Argentina ====
[[Argentina]] had the longest lasting electoral college in South America, used to elect its president and vice president, and national senators starting with the [[Constitution of Argentina|1853 Constitution]]<ref>[http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=7070 The Constitution of Argentina of 1853, 32nd to 63rd Articles] – Retrieved 16 January 2015</ref> and lasting mostly until the [[1994 Argentine Constitutional Assembly election|1994 constitutional amendment]]. There were a few exceptions, due to [[History of Argentina|political instability in the 20th century]], in which non-lasting reforms removed or suspended the electoral college. For example, the [[Argentine Constitution of 1949|1949 peronist amendment]] promoted by President [[Juan Perón]] which replaced it with direct elections by popular vote used in the [[1951 Argentine general election|1951]] and [[1954 Argentine general election|1954]] elections. After the [[Revolución Libertadora]] the 1957 constitutional convention repealed the 1949 constitutional amendment and the electoral college was reestablished from the [[1958 Argentine general election|1958]] general election.
The [[March 1973 Argentine general election|March 1973]] and [[September 1973 Argentine general election|September 1973]] general elections used a two-round direct election by popular vote system which was established by the outgoing military junta, which decreed in 1972 an illegal 'temporary constitutional reform' which was supposed to be later ratified by an elected constitutional convention which never happened and therefore expired. The elections between [[1983 Argentine general election|1983]] and [[1993 Argentine legislative election|1993]] used again the electoral college. The constitution was then amended by a wide consensus for the last time in 1994 and the electoral college was finally replaced with a modified two-round direct elections by popular vote system in use since [[1995 Argentine general election|1995]].<ref name=":45">{{Cite web |last1=Ziblatt |first1=Daniel |last2=Levitsky |first2=Steven |date=5 September 2023 |title=How American Democracy Fell So Far Behind |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/american-constitution-norway/675199/ |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>
==== Brazil ====
Brazil initially became independent in 1822 as the [[Empire of Brazil]], which was a [[constitutional monarchy]]. After becoming a republic in 1889, Brazil elected its president by direct popular vote until 1964, when the [[Military dictatorship in Brazil|military dictatorship]] chose its president by an electoral college comprising senators, deputies, state deputies, and lawmakers in the cities. The electoral college was replaced with a [[two-round system]] [[direct election]] in [[1989 Brazilian presidential election|1989]], after the end of the military dictatorship and the establishment of a [[Constitution of Brazil|new constitution]] in 1988 leading to the restoration of democracy.<ref name=":45" />
==== Other cases ====
'''Colombia''' used an electoral college which was eliminated in 1910.<ref name=":0" /><sup>:205</sup>
'''Paraguay''' had an electoral college that was established by the [[Constitution of Paraguay|1870 Constitution]], which was used to elect its president. The constitution was replaced in 1940 and the electoral college was replaced with direct elections by popular vote since 1943.<ref name=":45" />
'''Chile''' had an electoral college established by the [[Chilean Constitution of 1980|1828 Constitution]], which was used to elect its president in the elections from [[1829 Chilean presidential election|1829]] to [[1920 Chilean presidential election|1920]]. The constitution was [[Chilean Constitution of 1925|amended in 1925]] and the electoral college was replaced with direct elections by popular vote since [[1925 Chilean presidential election|1925]].<ref name=":45" /> Also, the Regional Councils were elected until 2009 by provincial electoral colleges composed with communal councillors of local governments in each province;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ley 19.097 – Modifica la constitucion politica de la republica en materia de gobiernos regionales y administracion comunal |trans-title=Act 19.097 – Constitution Reform in Regional Government and Local Administration. |url=https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=30464&idVersion=1991-11-12 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Ley Chile – National Congress of Chile Library |language=es}}</ref> since 2013 the regional councillors are elected by popular vote.
'''Uruguay''' had until 1918 one electoral college for every [[Departments of Uruguay|department]], each one of them had 15 members and elected the senator that would represent that department in the upper chamber of parliament.
=== Europe ===
'''Norway''', from 1814 to 1905, used regional electoral colleges to elect legislators to the [[Storting]], before switching to direct elections.<ref name=":0" /><sup>:199–201</sup>
'''France''' had its president elected by the legislature from 1875 to 1954. The [[1958 French presidential election|first presidential election]] of the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]] which elected [[Charles de Gaulle]] was the only presidential election where the winner was determined via an electoral college.<ref name=":45" /> The electoral college was replaced after the [[1962 French presidential election referendum|1962 referendum]], with direct elections by popular vote, using a two-round system since [[1965 French presidential election|1965]].
'''[[Finland]]''' had an electoral college for the country's [[president of Finland|president]] from [[1925 Finnish presidential election|1925]] to [[1988 Finnish presidential election|1988]], except 1944 (exception law), [[1946 Finnish presidential election|1946]] ([[Parliament of Finland|parliament]]) and 1973 (extended term by exception law). Direct presidential elections were introduced in [[1988 Finnish presidential election|1988]], with the electoral college only electing the President in case no candidate receives more than one-half of the popular vote; starting in [[1994 Finnish presidential election|1994]], this was replaced by a [[two-round voting|second round]] by popular vote.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Isotalus |first=Pekka |date=2001 |title=Presidential Campaigning in Finland and Americanization. |journal=World Communication |volume=30 |issue=2 |page=13}}</ref>
In '''Spain''', during the [[Second Spanish Republic|Second Republic]] period (1931–1936–39) the [[President of the Republic (Spain)|president]] was elected by an electoral college comprising the Parliament members and an equal number of democratically elected members ("compromisarios").{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}
The '''[[Holy Roman Empire]]''' also had an [[Electoral College (Holy Roman Empire)|electoral college]] to choose its ruler.
=== Asia ===
==== Republic of China (1947–1996) ====
The [[President of the Republic of China]] (Taiwan) was elected by the [[National Assembly (Republic of China)|National Assembly]] of the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] from [[1948 Chinese presidential election|1948]] until [[1996 Taiwanese presidential election|1996]] when [[democratization]] resulted in direct elections. The National Assembly had the similar function of electoral college except it had the power to amend the [[Constitution of the Republic of China|Constitution]]. The [[China|People's Republic of China]] in the [[mainland China|mainland]] today elects both the [[President of the People's Republic of China|President]] and the [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Premier]] by the [[National People's Congress]] every five years similar to the National Assembly.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
==== South Korean dictatorships (1972–1981) ====
During [[South Korea]]'s dictatorships of the [[Fourth Korean Republic|Fourth]] and [[Fifth Korean Republic|Fifth Republic]]s from [[1972 South Korean presidential election|1972]] until [[1981 South Korean presidential election|1981]], the [[President of South Korea|president]] was elected by an [[National Conference for Unification|electoral college]] until [[democratization]] resulted in direct elections starting in [[1987 South Korean presidential election|1987]]. Additionally, during the Fourth Republic, one-third of members of the [[National Assembly (South Korea)|National Assembly]] were nominally elected by the [[National Conference for Unification|same electoral college]] which elected the president, though in practice they were appointed by the president.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Sunhyuk |date=2010 |title=Collaborative Governance in South Korea: Citizen Participation in Policy Making and Welfare Service Provision |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42704725 |journal=Asian Perspective |volume=34 |issue=3 |page=166 |jstor=42704725 |issn=0258-9184}}</ref>
=== Africa ===
==== Apartheid South Africa (1961–1983) ====
In [[apartheid]]-era South Africa from 1961 to 1983, the [[state president of South Africa]] was appointed by all the members of the [[House of Assembly of South Africa]] and the [[Senate of South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Africa |first=enacted the Parliament of South |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Republic_of_South_Africa_Constitution_Act,_1961 |title=Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961}}</ref> After the adoption of the [[South African Constitution of 1983|1983 Constitution]], the new [[House of Assembly (South Africa)|House of Assembly]], [[House of Representatives (South Africa)|House of Representatives]], and [[House of Delegates (South Africa)|House of Delegates]] would designate 50, 25, and 13 of their members to the electoral college respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Africa |first=enacted the Parliament of South |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Republic_of_South_Africa_Constitution_Act,_1983 |title=Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983}}</ref> The electoral college would disappear along with the apartheid government, with the [[president of South Africa]] being [[1994 South African general election|elected]] by the [[Parliament of South Africa|South African Parliament]] in 1994, which is still the method of election to this day.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}
== See also ==
* [[Representative democracy]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Electoral College}}
[[Category:Electoral colleges| ]]
[[Category:Elections]]
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