Reforming the Electoral College
The United States Constitution was written to change the way government would function in the nation due to problems with the Articles of Confederation. Among these changes came an idea called the ‘electoral college’. The electoral college is a system that determines presidency using an indirect voting method whereupon electors consider the votes of the people and vote accordingly. The electoral college has been an issue of debate for a long time. Andrew Jackson spoke of his desires to abolish the system and replace it with a popular vote when he first became president. (Boerner) Since then, many different people and groups have advocated for its dissolution and replacement. The most popular ideas of replacement include popular vote and split voting in all states. These demands for change cannot be ignored for much longer. One reason why so many vote Independent is because the people have become dissatisfied with what is offered. Before choosing a side, the voting systems mentioned will be compared.
The electoral college allows 538 electors to vote for president. They usually vote based on what the majority of their district wants but there is no true obligation to do so. In 48 states and District of Columbia, it is a winner-take-all system so if 49% of the population votes for A but 51% votes for B; B will get all the electoral votes in that state. Sometimes the person who gets the majority of votes in the electoral college does not get popular vote, making them a minority president. This fact has been an issue of concern regarding the voting process. In “Adam Ruins Everything”, Conover explains how this system favors smaller states over larger so that your location determines how much your vote counts. Another problem he addresses is that the 11 swing states completely control the election so that, “in recent elections up to 80% of all the votes cast in America had no impact on the outcome.” (Conover) While the electoral college can act as a failsafe against mob rule or idiotic voters, it is so separated from the people that there may as well not even be citizen voting in most cases.
The electoral college allows 538 electors to vote for president. They usually vote based on what the majority of their district wants but there is no true obligation to do so. In 48 states and District of Columbia, it is a winner-take-all system so if 49% of the population votes for A but 51% votes for B; B will get all the electoral votes in that state. Sometimes the person who gets the majority of votes in the electoral college does not get popular vote, making them a minority president. This fact has been an issue of concern regarding the voting process. In “Adam Ruins Everything”, Conover explains how this system favors smaller states over larger so that your location determines how much your vote counts. Another problem he addresses is that the 11 swing states completely control the election so that, “in recent elections up to 80% of all the votes cast in America had no impact on the outcome.” (Conover) While the electoral college can act as a failsafe against mob rule or idiotic voters, it is so separated from the people that there may as well not even be citizen voting in most cases.
Splitting electoral votes has been mentioned as a compromise between direct democratic voting and the electoral system in that the minority party in a state would not be overshadowed but instead could make an impact. These method is currently used in Maine and Nebraska as a way to let the electoral votes be more representative of their populations. If this method were applied to all 50 states, presidential candidates would be forced to focus on more than just the swing states (which would no longer apply) and the electoral votes would more accurately represent the population’s desires while still using the electoral system to keep mob rule in check. However, this method would still not account for a majority of the problems concerning the electoral college as location would still be a factor on voter impact. This method also splits the votes regarding success in each district rather than the state as a whole so gerrymandering could potentially make this system the same as the electoral system that we operate under now.
The voting process that most people advocate for is a popular vote whereupon the people can directly elect the president based on their numbers without their location being a factor. Advocates for this system explain that a direct democratic vote would best represent the people’s interests. However, there are only half a million people in Wyoming but over 20 million people in Texas. (Netstate) This method of voting would disenfranchise those who live in less densely populated states because candidates would focus their campaigns efforts on more populated cities. This method also gives into mob rule whereupon the majority can silence the voice of the minority by sheer number, depriving them of their rights. While this method would be closest to a direct democracy, a direct democracy would lead to mob rule and democracy is a system that the founders did not want or intend upon creating our nation as several of them were critical of democracy and it is not mentioned in the Constitution. Instead, the founders wanted a republic.
The voting process that most people advocate for is a popular vote whereupon the people can directly elect the president based on their numbers without their location being a factor. Advocates for this system explain that a direct democratic vote would best represent the people’s interests. However, there are only half a million people in Wyoming but over 20 million people in Texas. (Netstate) This method of voting would disenfranchise those who live in less densely populated states because candidates would focus their campaigns efforts on more populated cities. This method also gives into mob rule whereupon the majority can silence the voice of the minority by sheer number, depriving them of their rights. While this method would be closest to a direct democracy, a direct democracy would lead to mob rule and democracy is a system that the founders did not want or intend upon creating our nation as several of them were critical of democracy and it is not mentioned in the Constitution. Instead, the founders wanted a republic.
A republic is, “a state in which the sovereign power resides in the whole body of the people, and is exercised by representatives elected by them; a commonwealth.” (Webster) The purpose of voting therefore, was to get people into office that most accurately represented the scale of the people’s desires for government. If four people were running for president and everyone’s number two choice was person B but for first choice 10% wanted A, 50% wanted C, and 40% wanted D and those who didn’t vote for C were as adamantly opposed to C being the next president as those who were voting for them… under our current system C would win even though as a republic, B should have. Our current system does not factor this in. The main replacement ideas do not factor this in either.
The electoral college is flawed. Most ideas on how to fix the voting system are just as flawed. This one probably is too. The first issue to be addressed is the ballot. The ballot should be organized so that it is clear to read and isn’t written in a way that will promote party voting. All voting decisions on the ballot should be mandatory to answer, even if that answer is ‘I don’t care’. The ballot should include a picture of each candidate with a short description written by them about what they stand for and what they hope to achieve. All voting issues should have a short paragraph in laymen terms (such as bills needing to be passed) for the uneducated voter. Regarding voting for candidates, it should not be multiple choice but instead “rank your top 3”. We have computers; this change should not make voting any more difficult to deal with. After this is implemented we should wait a few election cycles to see the impact to decide how the electoral college will inevitably be overturned.
Works Cited
Boerner, Gerald. “Today in History…” Prof. Boerner’s Explorations. 13 April 2011. Web. 18 November 2015. http://www.boerner.net/jboerner/?p=18114
Class and discussion.
Class and discussion.
Conover, Adam. “Adam Ruins Everything - Why the Electoral College Ruins Democracy”. truTV. 9 November 2015. Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90RajY2nrgk
Netstate. “50 States Populations.” netstate.com/ 2001. Web.
http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/st_population.htm
Webster Dictionary.
http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/st_population.htm
Webster Dictionary.
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