At the Constitutional Convention, the primary concern of delegates opposed to direct election was that big states would dominate presidential politics. Click to see full answer. (2020, August 29). But the winner is actually the American people who get a shot at representation, and not being outgunned by the mob rule of more populated states. ThoughtCo, Aug. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/why-keep-the-electoral-college-3322050. Maintain American Federalism. Is it consistent with democracy? The Electoral College ensures that every person in America has a voice and that corrupt politicians cannot rely on the loyal vote of supporters in places like California and New York. Yes, there are sometimes Green or Libertarian candidates on the ballot, but they aren't included in the main debates or given much airtime. "Reasons to Keep the Electoral College." In most cases, the Electoral College forces candidates to win not just a majority, but a super-majority. The Electoral College helps give rural states with lower populations an equal voice. in the government. Most of the 2020 results across the country are complete. Why the Electoral College is good? The United States Electoral College, however, was established by the United States Constitution and was created to ensure that elections don’t result in huge sections of society being unrepresented. Not only that, but a candidate can win an election with just 270 electoral votes. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/why-keep-the-electoral-college-3322050. Definition and Examples, How the US Electoral College System Works, Presidents Elected Without Winning the Popular Vote, Vice President of the United States: Duties and Details, What Happens If the Presidential Election Is a Tie, How Presidents and Vice Presidents Are Elected. Witness where potential voter fraud has emerged in the current election. They are not more important as the public and should vote just as equally. Donald Trump’s election with fewer popular votes than Hillary Clinton has raised again the question of why the presidency is decided through an Electoral College and not a popular vote. Every four years, and across time, the college provides a valuable countrywide, state-by-state snapshot of the trends and diversity in political thought. Under the Electoral College system, it is possible for a presidential candidate to lose the nationwide popular vote, yet be elected president of the United States by winning in only a handful of key states. The Electoral College, therefore, rewards very small states. They did not reject the notion of a truly “democratic” election; they left the matter to the states. Why It’s Important. This has already happened exactly four times in the nation's history: It is sometimes reported that Richard M. Nixon received more popular votes in the 1960 election than winner John F. Kennedy, but official results showed Kennedy with 34,227,096 popular votes to Nixon's 34,107,646. Seats in the House are allocated through a formula called the “method of equal proportions.” (If you are a math nerd, you will love this formula.) Reasons to Keep the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a process, not a place. He served as a USAR Captain, Military Intelligence. The Electoral College is widely regarded as an anachronism, a nondemocratic method of selecting a president that ought to be superseded by declaring … Federalism involves diffusion of powers among federal, state, and local governments rather than a strong central government. If you don’t like the politics, economics, and cultural atmosphere of one state, you can move to another. Abolishing the Electoral College would be a disaster for freedom and the constitutional imperative to prevent the concentration and abuse of power. Small-state electoral votes have often affected the national outcome. Presidential candidates could and would ignore states like Rhode Island and focus on states and districts with large population centers, offering more bang for effort and dollars. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the electoral college in the context of modern American politics. The following five reasons to keep the Electoral College are used by its defenders. The … ThoughtCo. On the surface, the math sounds good, but here are five reasons we should rid ourselves of the Electoral College and go with a popular vote instead: The presidency can be won without winning the popular vote. Another issue is that the Electoral College doesn't support a multi-party system, wherein there would be additional candidates from other parties (e.g., Green, Libertarian), as opposed to just the two mega parties (Democrat and Republican). "The Electoral College sort of amps up the partisan animosity in those states where each side is distrustful of the other side. Communities have their own cultures and histories. A key argument to keep the Electoral College is that the process is integral to America’s federalist philosophy. By design, the Electoral College system grants the states the power to elect the president of the United States. Any change to the way America chooses its president will require a constitutional amendment. Abolish the Electoral College, and America could face strangulating litigation in every state in the Union, as victory would ride solely on the national vote. Critics of the Electoral College system argue that by taking the selection of the president out of the hands of the public at large, the Electoral College system flies in the face of democracy. Opponents of the electoral college point to the inequality in population to electoral votes. A state’s Electoral College votesare the sum total of its seats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Otherwise, the impetus to blame the nation's woes on the Electoral College system will never materialize. The Electoral College should be abolished for several reasons, but one important reason is the Electoral College votes for what they want, not what public wants. Yet patience should be in greater demand. Witness where potential voter fraud has emerged in the current election. Supporters of the Electoral College argue that it is fundamental to American federalism, that it requires candidates to appeal to voters outside large cities, increases the political influence of small states, preserves the two-party system, and makes the electoral outcome appear more legitimate than that of a The Electoral … The Founding Fathers had seen the dangers of placing ultimate power into a single set of human hands. Much of this rich checkerboard of American politics would be lost in presidential elections based purely on a popular vote. The Electoral College always determines a winner and a loser, so of course the loser is always upset. What is the Electoral College and Why Do We Have It? Make sure to update your bookmarks! Washington DC: Office of the Federal Register, 2020. Finally, the constitutional amendment must get a two-thirds vote from both houses of Congress and be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Today, many Americans debate whether the Electoral College is a good or bad way to elect the president. Landslide Victory: Definition in Elections, What Was the US Second Party System? Ending slavery, impossible at the founding on a national basis, began as a state movement. Fifty states, engaged in a hothouse of democratic experimentation and exploration for creative political solutions, has benefitted America throughout her history. The founders designed the Electoral College to moderate the influence of large states and big cities over small states and rural districts. The Electoral College is just the same as the public and should vote like everyone else. The Washington Post editorial board, for example, recently renewed its call to abolish it. The Electoral College was never intended to be the “perfect” system for picking the president, says George Edwards III, emeritus political science professor at … America is, after all, a democracy, is it not? Accordingly, they feared that placing the unlimited power to elect the president into the politically naive hands of the people could lead to a "tyranny of the majority.". The Electoral College creates a clear winner in cases where the popular vote is very close. Fans of the electoral college say it allows people from all over the country to have a say in the election. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President of the United States. And when a presidential election hands the palm to a candidate who comes in second in the popular vote but first in the Electoral College tally, something deep in our democratic viscera balks and asks why. Each state gets a certain number of electors based on its total number of representatives in Congress, which reflects population numbers for that state. Pro #1: It keeps smaller states relevant in national politics. The Electoral College also stands against the concentration of power and the potential for voter abuse. As a part of their plan to separate powers and authority, the Founders created the Electoral College as the method by which the people could choose their highest government leader—the president—while avoiding at least some of the dangers of a direct election. The Founders wanted the voices of communities to matter. After all, the Electoral College is the reason he’s president. Direct democracy works only when all or at least most of the people participate in the process. Abolishing the Electoral College threatens the voices, survivability, and creative freedom of all states. And who did the House decide on in those two cases? This leads some to say the Electoral College … Abolishing the Electoral College was once an outrageous suggestion. Longley, Robert. Opponents of the electoral college point to the inequality in population to electoral votes. Equally important, a direct popular vote would further erode the power of the states in maintaining the intended constitutional balance between the national and state governments. Also to know is, why Electoral College vs popular vote? If the vote was purely a popular one, candidates could easily campaign in heavy populated cities and completely disregard smaller rural areas. Whatever the outcome of the 2020 presidential election or future contests, the Electoral College provides a potential challenge to either party claiming a clear mandate by a myopic focus on the national popular vote. There is hardly anything in the Constitution harder to explain, or easier to misunderstand, than the Electoral College. Is the Electoral College a good way of ensuring each voter is represented equally? By Frank R. Gunter. If former Vice President Joe Biden prevails in the 2020 election by scoring a victory in both the electoral and popular vote tallies, it will not curtail the clamoring nor the movement to send the Electoral College to a crematorium. Two of the most widely recognized forms of democracy are: The United States is a representative democracy operated under a "republican" form of government, as provided for in Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, which states, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a Republican form of Government..." (This should not be confused with the Republican political party which is merely named after the form of government.). … Contention 1: Proper representation is lost. In other words, the Electoral College makes it so that the number of communities voting in the same direction are what swings a vote, not the number of people. "Reasons to Keep the Electoral College." We’ve seen it a few times before: a candidate can become president by winning the Electoral College, even if he or she has lost the popular vote. There are a total of 538 electors. Virginia Kase. "Electoral College Results." With the Electoral College, for example, there’s no chance of a run-off election or a protracted national recount. Here's a recent CNN piece going over the ways that we could end up there this year and a Nate Silver article on the same subject.) For example, Wyoming has three electoral votes and California has 55. Achieving a "separation of powers" ultimately became their highest priority. This helps legitimize the election. History and Significance, 12th Amendment: Fixing the Electoral College. If the popular vote alone decided elections, the presidential candidates would rarely visit those states or consider the needs of rural residents in their policy platforms. The Electoral College is enshrined in the U.S. … Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. Getting elections as close to correct as possible is essential to democracy. Yes the electoral college is not only good fro america but needed. Plus the old-school electoral system has its benefits. Abandoning a statewide popular vote for president is good for each state precisely for the reasons that the Electoral College is good for the nation. Well, because of the electoral college. The Electoral College was established to ensure that no candidate – whether Republican or Democrat – can ignore smaller states. He is a former Western Civilization Instructor in the UConn Early College Experience program and for many years taught AP courses in U.S. History, European History, and Comparative Government and Politics. America can currently tolerate a socialism-friendly Vermont right alongside a no-income-tax polity such as New Hampshire because the U.S. system does not promote nor demand cookie-cutter states. 12/11/2020 Breaking down the Electoral College — its origins and issues Next week, the Electoral College will convene as is required by the Constitution to formally elect the next president and vice president of the United States. Electoral College: the fair way to … The Electoral College adds the Senate’s equal, but unfair, allocation of seats to the peculiar, but logical, allocation of House seats. Here’s why the Electoral College exists—and how it could be reformed Born of compromise and enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College isn’t a place. The Electoral College preserves the constitutional checks and balances to power that the founders in their wisdom intended. So, I thought it would be a good idea to help fill-in where the education system has failed. Americans who go to the polls on Election Day don't actually select the President directly. For this to come about: First, a presidential candidate must lose the nationwide popular vote, but be elected through the Electoral College vote. One reason that some analysts support the electoral college is that it encourages candidates to pay attention to small states and not just get out the vote in big, populous states and cities. All Americans benefit from a greater diversity of thought, action, and opportunities. It is important to remember that the President is not chosen by a national popular vote.The Electoral College vote totals determine the winner, not the statistical plurality or majority a candidate may have in the national popular vote totals.Electoral votes are awarded on the basis of the popular vote in each state. The Electoral College also stands against the concentration of power and the potential for voter abuse. Did the Founding Fathers—the framers of the Constitution—not realize that the Electoral College system effectively took the power to select the American president out of the hands of the American people? To be brutally honest, the Founding Fathers gave the American public of their day little credit for political awareness when it came to selecting the president. Without the college people would campaign only in major population centers such as new york, california, and florida. Arguments for getting rid of the Electoral College Many critics argue that the electoral college is outdated and doesn’t accurately represent the voice of the people. Here are some of their telling statements from the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Leading expert George Edwards analyzes the consequences of the Electoral College for democracy and explains why it allows the candidate who loses the popular vote to win the election. National Archives. Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams. Only twice have the electors stumbled and been unable to choose a president, thus throwing the decision to the House of Representatives. First, the Electoral College should be eliminated. When you go and cast your vote, you’re not really voting for the president, you’re actually voting for electors, who then go and vote for the president. If the popular vote alone decided elections, the presidential candidates would rarely visit those states or consider the needs of rural residents in their policy platforms. The short-sighted ignorance represented by the movement to abolish or circumvent the Electoral College and constitutional limits will not enhance voter rights, but it will open the door to greater abuse, fraud, and tyranny of the majority. Your View by Lehigh professor: Why it’s good the Electoral College is undemocratic . Longley, Robert. The Electoral College: What is it good for? How likely is it that 39 states are going to vote to give up that power? Most of the 2020 results across the country are complete. How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? All electoral systems, including the Electoral College, enshrined in the Constitution create incentives to home in on a limited set of places that are most likely to determine the outcome. The Electoral College creates the possibility of a 269-269 tie vote, and in almost every recent election there has been a relatively credible scenario for such an outcome. With the Electoral College, all that matters is the final count of electoral votes, not actual votes, and that means a candidate may be supported by a minority only. The Electoral College is composed of electors who each cast one electoral vote following the voting that takes place in the general election. Even if the first two criteria were met, it remains highly unlikely that the Electoral College system would be changed or repealed. Fortunately, the potential litigation is only concentrated in a few states and big cities with possible voting irregularities. The Electoral College protects that diversity and ensures that all voters matter, not just those who reside in urban areas or states. The Founding Fathers also felt the Electoral College system would enforce the concept of federalism—the division and sharing of powers between the state and national governments. Had Nixon not achieved a majority of the electoral votes, Wallace might have been in the position to choose and influence our next President. Some say the electoral college is key to maintaining what’s good about U.S. politics, while others want to abolish the institution in favor of a more direct system. Maintain American Federalism. Fortunately, the potential litigation is only concentrated in a few states and big cities with possible voting irregularities. https://www.thoughtco.com/why-keep-the-electoral-college-3322050 (accessed February 12, 2021). In most cases, the Electoral College forces candidates to win not just a majority, but a super-majority. Even the harshest critics would have trouble proving that in more than 200 years of operation, the Electoral College system has produced bad results. That’s because all states, regardless of their populations, are guaranteed equal representation in the Senate with two seats each, as well as at least one seat in the House of Representatives. The Electoral College was the result of a compromise, just like Congress and the Bill of Rights. According to Alexander Hamilton, the Electoral College is if “not perfect, it is at least excellent,” because it ensured “that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” [ 7] 1. 1. The nation’s founders hoped to quell the formation of powerful factions and political parties, and … The Electoral College creates a clear winner in cases where the popular vote is very close. You already know that the Electoral College lets candidates win the presidency while losing the popular vote (Donald Trump in 2016 springs to mind). Under the Constitution, the highest-ranking U.S. officials elected by the direct popular vote of the people are the governors of the states. The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Abolishing the Electoral College was once an outrageous suggestion. Under the Constitution, the people are empowered to choose, through a direct popular election, the men and women who represent them in their state legislatures and in the United States Congress. The purpose of the Electoral College is to ensure that each state gets a proportional say in who is going to be the president of all 50 states. Article II of the U.S. Constitution grants the power to elect the president and vice president to the states through the Electoral College system. It is archaic, undemocratic, and potentially very dangerous. The Electoral College creates the possibility of a 269-269 tie vote, and in almost every recent election there has been a relatively credible scenario for such an outcome. The candidate who receives a majority of electoral votes (270) wins the Presidency. We’ve seen it a few times before: a candidate can become president by winning the Electoral College, even if he or she has lost the popular vote. As it turned out, a democratic election determines each state’s vote for president in the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a unique means of electing a chief executive, but is it a good one? The Electoral College represented not only a compromise to accommodate the concerns of the small states, but also a singular act of genius on the part of the framers. Likewise, states pioneered reforms and strengthened rights in a multitude of areas including civil liberties, voting, religious freedom, property rights, equality of opportunity, and many others. Under the above circumstances, it is probable that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats would hold a strong majority of seats in Congress. What Is Democracy? In 1787, the Founding Fathers, based on their direct knowledge of history showing that unlimited power tends to become a tyrannical power, created the United States as a republic—not a pure democracy. Especially with all the advances that we have made in technology, conducting a popular vote would now be a fairly easy process than a century ago and we need to take steps to change the way that we conduct presidential elections. (The president cannot veto a constitutional amendment.). The Electoral College website now has an easy-to-remember address. Here's a recent CNN piece going over the ways that we could end up there this year and a Nate Silver article on the same subject.) The Electoral College is the process we use to vote for our president here in America. We’d all like clean, quick, and decisive election results. He lost the popular vote by 2,868,686 million votes. The electoral college gives small states more weight in the political process than their population would otherwise confer. Regardless, the electoral college, like states themselves, are part of a system intended not so much to constrain democracy, but to channel it productively. The advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College show us that the system, while imperfect in some ways, has been a beneficial force in the elections held in the United States since its founding. But with 15 states and counting supporting an interstate agreement to grant their electoral … Generally, states award all their electoral college votes to whoever won the poll of ordinary voters in the state. The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. While some people complain that the Electoral College means the popular vote is often disregarded in an election, it means that the concerns of smaller states cannot be dismissed. Th… The Electoral College would allow a candidate to win a majority of the popular vote and lose the election four more times in history—in 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.