Answer to Question 1
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain how the original design of the Electoral College chose the president and the vice president from the same pool of candidates, which meant the one with the most votes became president and the one with the second-most votes was vice president.
2. Discuss how the rise of the first party system led to a tie in the election of 1800 when the electors cast an equal number of votes for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, throwing the election to the House of Representatives.
3. Explain how the Twelfth Amendment provided for separate elections for both offices and that in the case of a tie, each state delegation would have one vote in the House of Representatives.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Define ticket-splitting as voting for candidates of different political parties for various offices in the same election.
2. Explain how there are different explanations for the phenomenon. For example, voters might not trust either established party to govern well, or they might be more concerned with individual candidates or issues.
