The Argument for the Electoral College
The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers of the United States to uphold democracy, but for many years, this system has come under criticism. Many have complained that the Electoral College is outdated, undemocratic and fails to represent the will of the people. This article seeks to look at both sides of the debate.
The Electoral College is the system that formally elects the President of the United States. Made up of 538 electors who each cast a vote, the first presidential candidate who reaches a simple majority of 270 votes wins the office. Before the election, each political party in a state will select a group of people who they nominate as electors. The distribution of electoral votes to candidates is left up to state legislature. In 48 out of 50 states, when the popular vote is counted, the party that wins the majority will send all of the selected candidates to be electors. In Nebraska and Maine, however, votes are distributed proportionally. Although each citizen’s vote does matter, who they are really voting for are electors, the representatives who will elect the president.
The number of electors and votes each state is assigned is dependent on its population. Each state is given one vote for each representative in the Senate and one for each representative in the House of Representatives, the two legislative bodies of the United States. This guarantees that each state will have a minimum of three votes, two senators and at least one representative. Furthermore, the District of Columbia (D.C.), although not a state, is given three Electoral College votes due to population.
Oftentimes, the distribution of electoral votes is the most controversial point in the debate. Votes from the House of Representatives are distributed evenly based on population. Senators, however, provide an additional two votes for each state no matter the size or population. This shifts the percent distribution of electoral votes in favor of smaller states. Due to the proportionally increased number of electoral votes, the votes of each individual in a smaller state counts slightly more than those in a large state. This, as many point out, is blatantly undemocratic. In a state where everyone is equal, some votes should not be counted more than others.
Wyoming had proportionally more representation than California in 2018. The difference between the percent of US population between California and Wyoming was 11.97 percentage points. The difference between percentage of Electoral College votes was 9.66 percentage points. Created by: Anthony Du, 2019.
However, there may be a reasonable explanation for this. As many proponents of the Electoral College and perhaps the Founding Fathers themselves argue, the Electoral College protects small states from big ones. The two-house Legislative Branch we have today is an example of this. To preserve representative democracy, the House of Representatives proportionally represents the population. To avoid the needs of small states from being overlooked, however, the Senate has equal representation. Likewise, the Electoral College, by distributing votes partially based on the Senators, protects small states from being neglected.
If the Electoral College does not unevenly distribute votes, candidates will campaign solely in large swing states as this guarantees them the most electoral votes. Thus, campaigns in small states would be few and far between, leading to a president who does not address the needs of smaller states. However, because appealing to a smaller audience would get proportionally more votes, the Electoral College makes campaigning in small states much more efficient. This ensures that a portion of the population is not neglected.
Yet, this system does not undermine large states either. Although proportionally weaker, large states still hold a majority of the electoral votes and population. Candidates still need to campaign and represent the large states in order to have a reasonable chance of being elected. The Electoral College was purposely created by the Founding Fathers in order to successfully protect the small states while not taking power entirely away from the big ones and is thus a fair and democratic system.
References
“About the Electors.” U.S. Electoral College, National Archives and Records Administration, 2019, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html, October 4, 2019.
CNN. “2016 election results” CNN, 2016, https://edition.cnn.com/election/2016/results, November 17, 2019.
“Distribution of Electoral Votes.” U.S. Electoral College, National Archives and Records Administration, 2019, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/allocation.html, October 4, 2019.
“Electoral College Fast Facts.” History, Art & Archives, United States House of Representatives, 2019, https://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/, October 7, 2019.
EveryCRSReport. “The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections.” Every CRS Report, May 15, 2017, https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL32611.html. October 29, 2019.
“What is the Electoral College?” U.S. Electoral College, National Archives and Records Administration, 2019, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html, October 4, 2019.
