With the United States’ 60th national election here today, controversy has arisen again about the Electoral College, a subject that has been debated since America’s beginning.
The Electoral College is a group of people who formally cast votes to elect the president and vice president. Originally, the founding fathers created the system because they didn’t trust citizens to vote directly for the president or vice president, fearing they were easily influenced.
But in recent years, citizens have protested the Electoral College’s purpose, saying it’s unrepresentative of American democracy. Many have proposed abolishing the Electoral College and implementing a popular vote, which is direct voting by citizens for our country’s highest office.
In fact, a study from the Pew Research Center indicates 63% of all American adults believe the presidential election should be based on the popular vote.
Indeed, the Electoral College should not hold the amount of power it has now in shaping presidential elections.
Since its creation, the Electoral College has had a history of unequal distribution of representation. Since every state gets a minimum of three electoral votes, the system gives more weight to less populated states than those in states with larger populations.
An example of this is Wyoming and Washington, D.C. Although more people live in D.C. than Wyoming, they both get three votes in the Electoral College. This is unfair because the people in D.C. are underrepresented compared to those in Wyoming.
Additionally, the Electoral College votes often clash with the results of the popular vote. In 2016, former President Donald Trump won the election despite Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote.
In order to reconcile this problem, the US should move toward a compromise between the Electoral College and the popular vote. Although the Electoral College can still be taken into account, the popular vote should hold more weight in the national election process.
US elections are the very foundation of the Constitution. If we don’t accurately reflect the will of the people, we risk destabilizing the ideals of American democracy. A compromise must be made between the Electoral College and the popular vote.