➄➅➆➇➈➉➊ ➋➈➉ ➌➍➊ ➎➍➌➏
➐➑➒ ➓➔→➒➣↔➒➣
On the Fence
Should we keep or abolish the Electoral College?
Electoral College reveals federal
government’s lack of trust
Electoral College reflects important
constitutional principles
As most everyone knows, the
United States uses what political
scientists call an indirect method of
election to select our president and
vice-president. The system is known
as the Electoral College. It is man-
dated by the federal constitution.
Membership in the Electoral Col-
lege is granted to each state accord-
ing to its population. There are 538
members. They are assigned to each
state according to the number of the
members of the House of Represen-
tatives and that state’s two senators.
As an example, the state of Oregon
has seven electors, the sum of five
House members and two senators.
In order to win the election, the
presidential candidate must secure
at least 270 electoral votes.
The reasons for the Electoral Col-
lege are interesting. The basic rea-
son is that many of the framers of
the Constitution did not trust giving
the selection of the chief executive
to the general population. They were
suspicious of the ability of the gen-
eral population to resist the temp-
tation to vote for a candidate who
might imperil the democratic ideal.
Thus they created a second level of
voting. That level is the Electoral
College.
Perhaps the most controversial
issue today is the formula that pre-
scribes how electoral votes are cast.
Forty-eight states mandate that all
of each state’s electoral votes are cast
to the winner of the popular vote in
that state. Nebraska and Maine pro-
vide for a division of the electoral
votes. Using the current formula,
it is possible for a huge number of
votes to be simply thrown out. As an
example, if four million votes were
cast in a state with the result that
2,000,001 were cast for one can-
didate and 1,999,999 for the other
candidate, the “winner” receives all
of that states electoral votes.
Although always somewhat con-
troversial, the current concern about
the method of an indirect election is
largely due to the 2000 and 2016
presidential elections. Had a direct
election system been in place, we
would have had a President Al Gore
and President Hillary Clinton. Both
Keep it. Absolutely. After long de-
bate and consideration, the founders
designed the operation of the Elec-
toral College with extra care. The part
of the Constitution (Article 2, Section
1) that describes the operation of the
Electoral College has more detail than
any other issue in the Constitution,
including the federal judiciary, war
powers, taxation and representation.
It prescribes in detail how it is sup-
posed to work.
It is good to discuss the subject. Ev-
ery generation needs to be taught and
➸➺➻➼ ➻➺➽➾➚➪➶➼➹
➡➢➤➥➢ ➦➥➡➢➧➨
➭➩➥➘➩➫➵➵➤➴➫➵➷➬➫➮➥➦➩➳➧➵
Gore and Clinton garnered more
votes than the winners of the Elec-
toral College vote. Of course since
the current system is ensconced in
the U.S. Constitution, it would re-
quire a constitutional amendment
to change the system.
Perhaps a brief look at how other
constitutional democracies select
their chief executive would help us
decide on a more appropriate sys-
tem. Consider the following elector-
al procedures.
✁✂✄☎✆✝✞✟ ✝✠✝✞✟☎✡✂☛ ☞✌ ✄✝✌✞✆☎✍✝✄
earlier, this system uses a second-
ary level of voting to select its chief
executive (usually called a presi-
dent). It is interesting to note that
the United States is the only large
democracy to employ this system.
Chief executive chosen by a leg-
☎✌✠✎✟☎✏✝
✍✡✄✑☛
✒✡✆
✝✓✎✔✕✠✝✖
✟✗✝
German president is elected by the
Bundestag (630 members) and 630
members chosen by the German
states.
✘✎✆✠☎✎✔✝✂✟✎✆✑ ✌✑✌✟✝✔☛ ✁✂ ✟✗☎✌
system the chief executive is chosen
by the legislative body based on the
number of seats won by each party
in the general election. The leader
of each party is always known before
the general election so it is known
who will be the prime minister be-
fore the election. If no party secures
a majority of seats, the leading par-
ty is asked to form a coalition. The
United Kingdom is probably the
best example of this system.
✙☎✆✝✞✟ ✝✠✝✞✟☎✡✂☛ ✚✗☎✌ ✕✆✡✞✝✄✛✆✝
simply adds up the popular votes.
The candidate who wins the most
votes is elected as the chief execu-
tive.
The remaining question is which
system (or some hybrid system) is
best for the United States. Many
people find the results of the 2000
and 2016 elections to be very un-
settling. The course of our country
would most likely be very different if
a direct election system would have
been in place.
✆✝✔☎✂✄✝✄ ✡✜ ✟✗✝ ✆✝✎✌✡✂✌ ✎✂✄ ✍✝✂✝✢✟✌
of constitutional principles, otherwise
liberties and inalienable rights are put
in jeopardy.
The Electoral College is one of many
ways our governmental system dis-
perses power so that the minority has
a voice to help protect their rights. The
Electoral College is an ingenious sys-
tem for electing a president and pro-
✏☎✄✝✌ ✎✔✎✣☎✂✤ ✕✆✎✞✟☎✞✎✠ ✍✝✂✝✢✟✌✥ ✦✝✆✝
is what the Electoral College system
✄✡✝✌ ✜✡✆ ✛✌☛
✧✝✞✡✤✂☎✣✝✌ ✟✗✎✟ ✝✏✝✆✑ ✕✎✆✟ ✡✜ ✟✗✝
✞✡✛✂✟✆✑ ☎✌ ☎✔✕✡✆✟✎✂✟☛ ★✝✞✎✛✌✝ ✩✝ ✎✆✝
a Republic, we have a representa-
tive form of government. Therefore
we do not vote directly for president
but rather for how our state (electors)
will vote for president. Because most
states use a “winner takes all” system,
in order to win, the candidates are
obliged to campaign widely among
disparate groups and to recognize the
needs of the entire country — which
encompasses many minority interests.
Because of the Electoral College, can-
didates have no incentive to campaign
in states already won because no elec-
toral votes are gained by increasing
the vote margin. This is a very good
thing because a candidate with only a
regional appeal is unlikely to make a
good president.
↕➙➛ ➜➙➝➞➟➠➛
➡➢➤➥➢ ➦➥➡➢➧➨
➩➫➭➡➯➲➤➦➳➢➵
because the number of electors is the
sum total of representatives (propor-
tional by state population) plus the
number of senators (always two per
state).
✦✝✠✕✌ ✕✆✡✟✝✞✟ ✜✆✡✔ ✏✡✟✝✆ ✜✆✎✛✄☛ ✁✂
1876, Sam Tilden won 50.9% of the
popular vote, due to massive voter
fraud and suppression of black votes
in Southern states. However, Tilden
lost the Electoral College vote and so
Rutherford B. Hayes became presi-
dent. It is another case where no more
electoral votes are obtained by in-
creasing the margin of victory. Also, in
case of dispute, the Electoral College
system makes a recount practical and
possible.
✘✆✡✏☎✄✝✌ ✎ ✰✞✝✆✟✎☎✂✟✑ ✡✜ ✡✛✟✞✡✔✝✱☛
The Electoral College system requires
the winner to have a majority, not a
plurality (where the most votes are
still less than a majority), of electoral
votes. This method of requiring a ma-
jority discourages a large number of
narrow focus parties and candidates,
✕✆✝✏✝✂✟✌ ✎ ✂✝✝✄ ✜✡✆ ✆✛✂✲✡✳ ✝✠✝✞✟☎✡✂✌✖
and gives the winner a mandate to
govern the country. In many par-
liamentary systems where a plural-
ity wins, there are often many parties
each with a very narrow focus. A can-
didate can often win with a small plu-
rality of the vote, like 10-20%. In this
case the other 80-90% of voters do
not feel represented and the winner
receives little support and no mandate
to govern.
There is always some grumbling
when the Electoral College does not
follow the majority vote, but that’s not
an accident but rather a feature. With-
out the Electoral College our elections
✪☎✏✝✌ ✌✔✎✠✠✝✆ ✌✟✎✟✝✌ ✎ ✍☎✤✤✝✆ ✏✡☎✞✝☛
✩✡✛✠✄ ✍✝ ✄✆✎✔✎✟☎✞✎✠✠✑ ✄☎✳✝✆✝✂✟✖ ✎✂✄
Electoral College voting is propor-
tional to the population but still gives
the smaller states an advantage. For
example, the state of New York has 29
electors and Oregon has seven elec-
tors. New York has a population 5
times larger than Oregon, but the in-
✫✛✝✂✞✝ ✡✜ ✬✝✩ ✭✡✆✮ ☎✂ ✟✗✝ ✯✠✝✞✟✡✆✎✠
not for the better. Candidates who
succeed must represent the entire
country in their campaigning.
It would require a constitutional
amendment to replace the Electoral
College but there are too many good
arguments in its favor to ever seri-
ously consider that. It will last to the
College is only 4.1 times larger. This is
✍✝✂✝✢✟ ✡✜ ✎✠✠✥
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