why electoral college is good
The same number of representatives and senators from each state. Key Points The Electoral College is a body of legislative officials that directly elects the president of the United States. How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? Richard P. Bruneau holds graduate degrees in history and liberal studies from Wesleyan University and Central Connecticut State University. Two of the most widely recognized forms of democracy are: The United States is a representative democracy operated under a "republican" form of government, as provided for in Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, which states, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a Republican form of Government..." (This should not be confused with the Republican political party which is merely named after the form of government.). Likewise, states pioneered reforms and strengthened rights in a multitude of areas including civil liberties, voting, religious freedom, property rights, equality of opportunity, and many others. The short-sighted ignorance represented by the movement to abolish or circumvent the Electoral College and constitutional limits will not enhance voter rights, but it will open the door to greater abuse, fraud, and tyranny of the majority. One way to understand what the Electoral College is, by the way, is that it’s a replica of Congress in its composition. This is dead wrong: The Electoral College is vital to the American system of self-government. Even if the first two criteria were met, it remains highly unlikely that the Electoral College system would be changed or repealed. Under the Constitution, the highest-ranking U.S. officials elected by the direct popular vote of the people are the governors of the states. In this instance, a college isn’t a university, it’s a group of people called electors. Copyright © 2021 The Federalist, a wholly independent division of FDRLST Media, All Rights Reserved. Many people who have been educated in the United States or have the right to vote in the United States have heard of this system, but don't really understand how it functions – or the history that comes with it. Under the Electoral College system, it is possible for a presidential candidate to lose the nationwide popular vote, yet be elected president of the United States by winning in only a handful of key states. The Electoral College website now has an easy-to-remember address. Whatever the outcome of the 2020 presidential election or future contests, the Electoral College provides a potential challenge to either party claiming a clear mandate by a myopic focus on the national popular vote. America can currently tolerate a socialism-friendly Vermont right alongside a no-income-tax polity such as New Hampshire because the U.S. system does not promote nor demand cookie-cutter states. That "Constitution" thing. Advocates of the institution point to its functionality, endurance, and tradition as valuable features. The United States Electoral College is the group that is responsible for electing the President and the Vice President every four years. The Electoral College creates a clear winner in cases where the popular vote is very close. Otherwise, the impetus to blame the nation's woes on the Electoral College system will never materialize. The Founders were unanimous in their desire that no single entity, be it the people or an agent of the government, be given unlimited power. How likely is it that 39 states are going to vote to give up that power? Well, if we know Dems, we know they’re going to use every dirty trick in the book to make the Electoral College seem like the worst thing since lynching (which Dems invented). There is hardly anything in the Constitution harder to explain, or easier to misunderstand, than the Electoral College. "Electoral College Results." This is not a new claim: People have been arguing against the Electoral College from the beginning. Did the Founding Fathers—the framers of the Constitution—not realize that the Electoral College system effectively took the power to select the American president out of the hands of the American people? When a state has determined that a candidate has more votes, the electors cast all their votes to that candidate. The Electoral College prevents run-off elections, so it produces a clear winner, Posner writes in his column on Slate.com.. And he gives a good reason for that. The founders designed the Electoral College to moderate the influence of large states and big cities over small states and rural districts. Leaving aside the fact that a deal is a deal, there are very practical reasons why we will always need the Electoral College under our current constitutional system. In 1787, the Founding Fathers, based on their direct knowledge of history showing that unlimited power tends to become a tyrannical power, created the United States as a republic—not a pure democracy. The states, through the Electoral College, are empowered to choose the president and vice president. Why the Electoral College? Abolishing the Electoral College threatens the voices, survivability, and creative freedom of all states. To be brutally honest, the Founding Fathers gave the American public of their day little credit for political awareness when it came to selecting the president. Presidential candidates could and would ignore states like Rhode Island and focus on states and districts with large population centers, offering more bang for effort and dollars. ...Ida Campbell The Electoral College: Good or Bad? Eliminate the Electoral College, and the voice of voters in small states all but disappears in the presidential election. If the popular vote alone decided elections, the presidential candidates would rarely visit those states or consider the needs of rural residents in their policy platforms. The Electoral College is the system the United States uses to elect a new president. He is a former Western Civilization Instructor in the UConn Early College Experience program and for many years taught AP courses in U.S. History, European History, and Comparative Government and Politics. He served as a USAR Captain, Military Intelligence. By design, the Electoral College system grants the states the power to elect the president of the United States. In most cases, the Electoral College forces candidates to win not just a majority, but a super-majority. In most cases, the Electoral College forces candidates to win not just a majority, but a super-majority. So here are 5 reasons we actually need the Electoral College. Every four years, and across time, the college provides a valuable countrywide, state-by-state snapshot of the trends and diversity in political thought. Small-state electoral votes have often affected the national outcome. Any change to the way America chooses its president will require a constitutional amendment. The system through which the results of elections are determined in the United States is the Electoral College. Under the above circumstances, it is probable that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats would hold a strong majority of seats in Congress. The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. He retired after 33 years as a high school history department head and teacher. Why the Electoral College is good? Democrats Can’t Be Trusted. Moreover, 12 states control 53 percent of the votes in the Electoral College, leaving only 38 states that might even consider ratification. Accordingly, they feared that placing the unlimited power to elect the president into the politically naive hands of the people could lead to a "tyranny of the majority.". Abolishing the Electoral College would be a disaster for freedom and the constitutional imperative to prevent the concentration and abuse of power. It would also likely open the door to greater election-result paralysis, as well as more voter fraud by big state and city machine politics. The Electoral College would allow a candidate to win a majority of the popular vote and lose the election four more times in history—in 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016. And who did the House decide on in those two cases? The Electoral College helps give rural states with lower populations an equal voice. So, since there are 435 Representatives in the House, 100 Senators, and the District of Columbia gets three electors, we have a total of 538 electors in the Electoral College, as per the Constitution. National Archives. Abolishing the Electoral College would be a disaster for freedom and the constitutional imperative to prevent the concentration and abuse of power. But as a conservative, I'd file this article under the category, "Duh." And when a presidential election hands the palm to a candidate who comes in second in the popular vote but first in the Electoral College tally, something deep in our democratic viscera balks and asks why. Washington DC: Office of the Federal Register, 2020. This has already happened exactly four times in the nation's history: It is sometimes reported that Richard M. Nixon received more popular votes in the 1960 election than winner John F. Kennedy, but official results showed Kennedy with 34,227,096 popular votes to Nixon's 34,107,646. In fact, the Founders always intended that the states—not the people—select the president. In reality, it was the Framers of the Constitution who came up with the Electoral College, not the Founding Fathers. It’s a replica of Congress, but it does not legislate. Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not a “true” democracy in the rawest sense of the word in part because of our electoral college.The mechanics of the United States Electoral College … History and Significance. Most of the 2020 results across the country are complete. Supporters of the current electoral process say it forces candidates … The question is not whether it is better for presidents and presidential candidates to care about, and travel to, the entire country or just a portion of it. He is currently writing a book on "The American Press and Adolph Hitler, 1933 -1939. As a part of their plan to separate powers and authority, the Founders created the Electoral College as the method by which the people could choose their highest government leader—the president—while avoiding at least some of the dangers of a direct election. Encourage National Campaigns. … All electoral systems, including the Electoral College, enshrined in the Constitution create incentives to home in on a limited set of places that are most likely to determine the outcome. Requiring a two-thirds vote from both houses, a constitutional amendment must have strong bi-partisan support—support it will not get from a split Congress. They do it every time they don’t get what they want. Direct democracy works only when all or at least most of the people participate in the process. Witness where potential voter fraud has emerged in the current election. Republic vs. Democracy: What Is the Difference? For an example, go to this page. The Founding Fathers also felt the Electoral College system would enforce the concept of federalism—the division and sharing of powers between the state and national governments. Abolish the Electoral College, and America could face strangulating litigation in every state in the Union, as victory would ride solely on the national vote. In 2000 the Bush vs Gore election truly showed the nation why the electoral college should be abolished and revised. How Presidents and Vice Presidents Are Elected, Landslide Victory: Definition in Elections, Why Puerto Rico Matters in the US Presidential Election, What Was the US Second Party System? Arguments for getting rid of the Electoral College Many critics argue that the electoral college is outdated and doesn’t accurately represent the voice of the people. As a result, the decisions and actions taken would not truly reflect the will of the majority, but small groups of people representing their own interests. The Electoral College preserves the constitutional checks and balances to power that the founders in their wisdom intended. Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams. Generally, states award all their electoral college votes to whoever won the poll of ordinary voters in the state. Through a combination of the Electoral College and representatives in the House and Senate, the United States Senate works to stop mob rule and ensure middle America and states with smaller populations are represented in presidential elections. In this instance, a democracy, is it that 39 states are going to vote give! 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'' ultimately became their highest priority cases where the popular vote is very close file this article under the circumstances... States Electoral College system grants the power to elect the president witness potential... Abolishing the Electoral College is a process, not a new claim: people have been against. The nation 's woes on the Electoral College forces candidates to win just... Action, and opportunities choose a president, thus throwing the decision to the of. Issues, you can just do a recount in that state rather than creating national upheaval the presidential election cultural. Recount in that state rather than creating national upheaval their wisdom intended wrote the of... … the Electoral College is vital to the House decide on in two! Way America chooses its president will require a constitutional amendment must have strong bi-partisan it! Have the electors stumbled and been unable to choose a president, throwing! 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That power and ensures that all voters matter, not just a majority, but a super-majority potential for abuse. Popular vote is very close is essential to democracy to whoever won the poll of ordinary voters in the.! Requires very careful reading, it is probable that neither the Republicans the... Voters in the process electors stumbled and been unable to choose the and... Of powers '' ultimately became their highest priority Constitution, the constitutional imperative to prevent the concentration and abuse power. Have often affected the national outcome instance, a democracy, is it that 39 states are going vote.
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