What is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is a process through which the president of the United States is elected. Since the president is historically the most important figure in the United States government, the process by which they are elected was tailored specifically to the needs of the Founding Fathers, and the needs of the people at the dawn of the country. Today, the Electoral College has sparked much debate over whether it is obsolete, and whether America has outgrown the need for it, or if it remains an important process that creates a system of fair representation. In 2016, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton received almost 3 million more votes from Americans than her Republican opponent Donald Trump did. However, because of the Electoral College, Trump received more electoral votes and thus won the election. How is it possible that a candidate could receive more votes from Americans yet not become the president? It all comes down to the Electoral College, and the representational democracy that the U.S. devised during its founding.

The Founding:

The Electoral College is embedded in the Constitution, and was created alongside the other guiding principles of the United States' founding. Intended as a method to balance state and federal power, it began as a concession to Congress. During the founding, some wanted the president to be elected by simply a vote from the general population (referred to as the popular vote), while others wanted Congress to appoint a president. The method determined by the Founding Fathers was to appoint "Electors" in each state to represent the voices of the populations of each state, without having the populations directly decide the president. The "Electoral College" as a term in not in the Constitution, but "Electors" is. These Electors are chosen by the political parties in each state, and they cannot be a government official or be holding any sort of office. It is also known that the Founding Fathers feared a "majority-rule" system that would allow the general population to have complete control. They believed that the largely uneducated U.S. population would need help making an informed decision, and thus required Electors, specially placed to make the final decision.

How it Works:

The amount of electoral votes that a state has is determined by its number of Senators and Representatives. Each state has two Senators, and a number of Representatives based on its population size. This acts as a compromise, as every state would only have two Senators no matter the size, but Representatives based on population. For the Electoral College, this makes it so that larger populations are more represented. So, a large state like California will have more electoral votes than a much smaller state like Rhode Island. The Electoral College uses the official U.S. Census to determine populations, and thus the amount of Representatives, and electoral votes per state. The amount of votes is also the same as the amount of Senators and Representatives in each respective state. When a presidential election occurs, the general population in each state casts their votes for a candidate. The Electors then use the decision made by the public to determine their votes. If the majority of a state votes for the Democratic candidate, that state's Electors will cast their votes for that candidate. All states but two-- Maine and Nebraska-- are a "winner take all" system for electoral votes, meaning when the population decides on a candidate, all the Electors in the state will vote for them. In Maine and Nebraska the districts are often very divided, so Electors may deviate from one another. Washington D.C. also receives 3 electoral votes because it is a large urban center, despite not being a state. Additionally, there are 538 total electoral votes available, so a candidate must win a majority of 270 of them to win the election. Thus, as the Founding Father had wanted, the state and federal powers are balanced. States are respected in terms of population determining their amounts of votes, but the population still gets to determine who their electors vote for. However, as seen in 2016, this system creates controversy when the Electoral College produces a different vote than the popular vote.

How does this Happen?

Because of the difference in electoral votes depending on state populations, this can make some states more valuable than others when it comes to elections. For example, Florida has 30 electoral votes, compared to a state like North Dakota which only has 3 votes. This also causes presidential candidates to campaign in states deemed "more important" because of their amount of electoral votes that are capable of swinging an election. Traditionally states with a large amount of electoral votes that have historically gone back and forth between voting Democrat of Republican are called "swing states." These states, such as Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are where we often see candidates campaigning in, in attempts to gain their electoral votes. These votes are capable of swinging the entire election in a candidates' favor, and this is what happened in 2016. During the 2016 election Trump ended up winning in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida. Since electoral votes are winner takes all, he easily passed the 270 vote threshold with these states' votes, winning the election with 304 electoral votes compared to Clinton's 227, despite Clinton winning almost 3 million more popular votes. This became the fifth time in U.S. history that a candidate won the popular vote but received less electoral votes. This makes it so that the specific states a candidate campaigns in are crucial to the election. Winning states like Ohio and Michigan compared to states like Rhode Island and North Dakota become the objective of campaigns.

Why do some people want to get rid of It?

This system of course has caused many Americans to question the need to use the Electoral College today. What began as a compromise between the Founding Fathers over 200 years ago, has become a system that can decide an election, taking power away from the population, and making some states more important than others in elections. Some Americans worry about "faithless electors" and fell that Electors may have incentives to deviate from the popular vote. In 2016, Electors did so. Another reason many wish to abolish the Electoral College is that it creates regional imbalances. States with high population concentrations that create high economic output are more concentrated in the East and West coast, where states have fewer votes. This leaves states that produce less for the economy to have the largest say in who becomes president. By the late 1900s, the majority of Americans wanted to do away with the Electoral College, likely because of the results of the 2016 election. Many also point out the winner takes all system as a major flaw. This makes it nearly impossible for third party candidates to win electoral votes in any state. Even if they received a large percentage of the popular vote, if they did not win a majority, the candidate would receive no electoral votes. This makes it impossible for third parties to break through in elections.

America has changed drastically since the founding of the nation. Systems have become obsolete, and parties have changed to make the political landscape vastly different than when the Founding Fathers first compromised to establish a Constitution. As decision from a different world 200 years ago affect outcomes today, Americans have begun to call for change. However, these issues have also become highly partisan, especially as parties have become more and more polarized. The Electoral College is another national topic that is now rooted in party division and polarization, even as the cases for abolishing it or keeping it are made.

Images:

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What is the Electoral College?

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What is the Electoral College?

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