Electoral College

Millions of people vote every four years to determine their president. Yet, surprisingly, the factor that finalizes who the president will be is not the popular vote but a system called the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a process in which the people vote for electors in their states who later vote for the President and the Vice President. It was the product of the thought process by the Founding Fathers since they were not sure whether it was a very good idea to let people choose the president directly. However, that was over 200 years ago and the question still remains. Is the Electoral College good enough or should it be abolished?

Many discussions took place over this topic. As a matter of fact, there were at least 700 amendments proposed to abolish or alter the Electoral College system. Some people including John Samples and Mitch McConnell argued that the Electoral College gave power to states, therefore preserving the federalist structure of the nation and that it made the voting process complex and inefficient which contributed to the political prosperity and liberties in the nation. Yet, some also used the counterargument that it was not fair for a person to win the presidency after losing the popular vote. Both sides have good points. However, this is not just a simple question of whether the Electoral College system is good or bad. This is a question of whether the pros of it outweigh its cons or vice versa.

First of all, people argue that the current system works as it has for over 200 years. They view the 5 elections in which the president lost the popular vote as mere exceptions. Furthermore, the fact that the Founding Fathers also viewed the Electoral College as the best method of choosing a president tends to convince people that the Electoral College should be kept as it is. That is one of the reasons why many people view the Electoral College as a fundamental piece of the national system. Another advantage of the Electoral College is that it gives power to the states as well as the people which contributes to the preservation of the federalist structure on which the nation was built.

On the contrary, there are many disadvantages to the Electoral College as well. First of all, it is not fair. For example, since each state needs at least 3 electoral votes, 12 states including Alaska, Delaware, Wyoming and the District of Columbia have a combined population of 12,500,722 people and 44 electoral votes unlike Illinois which has a population of 12,830,632 people and 20 electoral votes. This causes some parts of the population to have a greater vote weight on the national scale. It is also possible for a candidate to have 270 electoral votes and win the presidency by winning over only 12 states including California and Texas. The total amount of votes needed to turn that scenario into a reality makes up only 27.1% of the total popular votes. Of course, this is just a far-fetched possibility but it is indeed a scary one. Additionally, in case of a tie in the presidential election, the election would be thrown to the House of Representatives where every state can cast one vote. As a result, one representative from Wyoming, representing 500,000 voters, would have as much say as the 55 representatives from California which represents 55 million voters. Another argument for why the Electoral College system should be reformed is that the reasons which led to its creation by the Founding Fathers are no longer relevant.

In conclusion, the Electoral College system has its advantages and disadvantages. Yet, I personally think that the possible dangers of it and disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. I do not think that it is the best method we can come up with to represent the will of the people while giving states some authority in order to preserve the federalist structure. Yet, I also believe that instead of abolishing it, we should reform it. For example, it might be better to have a proportional representation for each state instead of winner-take-all. However, I am positive that this argument will continue to be a controversial topic until we can come up with a solution.

Mahir Kaya

Works Cited

• Document C

• Document D

• https://www.procon.org/headlines/the-electoral-college-top-3-pros-and-cons/

• https://www.npr.org/2016/11/02/500112248/how-to-win-the-presidency-with-27-percent-of-the-popular-vote