In government class, we discuss a lot of different components to the structures and foundations of society. One of those things, and often one of the most misunderstood things about our government, is the electoral college. This post is going to tell you what it is, why some people hate it, and why some people love it. You think what you want after reading it!
What is it? Back in the day, as I tell my students, our founding fathers didn't exactly have a great opinion of the masses. Many were fearful of a strong central government, especially if it was controlled by a large group of rather ignorant people (their fears). To combat this concern of "mob rule" (and for some other reasons) they created the Electoral College system. What it was back then and what it is now today is roughly the same; each state gets 3 votes minimum (two senators, plus at least one representative) and the sky is the limit on the maximum (again, depending on population size). Similarly to Congress, they didn't want the smaller states to be forgotten about in the election of the President. How it works is, the state's population votes and then, depending on which person won the state, that person's political party will choose electors who then go to vote on the people's behalf. Almost 98-99% of the time, the electors votes the way they are told. Some states punish electors who break with what they are supposed to do, and it isn't very common. Almost every state is a winner take all state, with a couple exceptions. Why do some people hate it? Often the losing party (especially if they win the general vote, but lose the electoral vote) hates the electoral system. Hillary Clinton has gone on record against it after losing to President Trump (who supports it now). President Trump, then Mr. Trump, was on record against the electoral college after Mitt Romney lost in 2012 against President Obama. It is one of the many issues you will see politicians flip flop on depending on who won and who lost. Other than politicians, regular people hate it (some to many) because they feel like their vote doesn't count as much as someone who lives in a smaller state. If you, for example, live in a state with 10 representatives, and you have 10 million people, then that is a 1: 1,000,000 ratio. Similarly, if you live in a state with 1 representative and 100,000 people, you have a 1:100,000 ratio. Many do not think this is fair at all. Also, some people just dislike the system altogether, regardless of their state's ratio. These people state that whoever the majority of the people vote for, regardless of their state, should win the election. These are some of the main reasons why people hate the electoral college. Ok then, why do some people love it? In short, they see what the founding fathers saw. People are reactionary, and if the majority of people get excited about something really quickly and elect someone who would be extreme for our country, the electoral college is a safeguard against that. Because even if someone wins 80% of California and get all their votes, they still could balance that out by getting 51% of Texas and some smaller states, and get all the electors they need. Another major point these people often make is that the election of the President has nothing to do with what the people want and everything to do with what the states want. Almost every state is a winner take all state, and that is their choice. Until they change that, the system isn't going to be impacted. States like the idea of voting for whoever wins the popular vote in their area, instead of giving their electors our proportionally. Lastly, and probably most importantly, the supporters want to make sure politicians don't just care about the heavily populated states and cities. With the electoral college, places like Missouri and Kansas are enticing to candidates to come to, because they need every electoral vote they can get. If it was just about population, then you would never see people in the midwest; the four places they would be, probably, at all times would be Texas, California, New York, and Florida. With the electoral system, they have to visit everywhere, especially states that change parties frequently. So there you have it; a short explanation of the history and reasons people support/hate the Electoral College. Please comment below if you have any opinions to share, thanks!
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