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Electoral College

Discussion Questions

  • Does the electoral college accurately represent the United States populace?

  • Should the Electoral College be modified?

  • Should the Electoral College be abolished?

  • What other voting reforms would you make? Rank choice voting? Voter ID laws?

  • Does the electoral college give one political party an unfair advantage?

Research

Legal Action

  • The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution. It was revised by the 12th Amendment (1804), the 14th Amendment (1868), and the 23rd Amendment (1961) (National Archives and Records Administration, 2016).

  • Each US state has as many electors as it has members of the US House and Senate.  Together, these 538 electors make up the Electoral College, which chooses the US president every four years (NCSL, 2020). 

  • Since 2006, the national popular vote bill has passed in 15 states and the District of Columbia—16 jurisdictions which hold 196 electors (England, 2020). 

  • 700+ amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College (Fair Vote, 2020)

  • As of September 2020, 61% of Americans are in favor of abolishing the Electoral College (up 12 points from 2016) (Easley, 2020). 

 

Upholding Democracy

  • The Electoral College prevents states with larger populations (e.g. major metropolitan areas) from having undue influence. Presidential candidates must campaign in and support all states (England, 2020; Posner, 2012; Stepman, 2016; Gregg, 2012). 

  • The Electoral College system ignores 70% of American voters (Pearson, 2020). 

  • In 2016, 66% of the general election campaign (spending and events) took place in 6 swing states and 94% was centered in 12 swing states (Weber and Fong, 2016; Pearson, 2020). 

  • 48/50 states have adopted the “winner-take-all” law. This law gave Trump all of Pennsylvania’s 20 electors despite getting only 1 vote more than Clinton (Pearson, 2020). 

  • The candidate who receives the most votes may not win the election, as happened in 1824, 1876, 1888, 1960, 2000, and 2016 (Pearson, 2020). 

 

Historical Precedent 

  • The Founding Fathers thought the Electoral College was the best way to choose the president (England, 2020)

  • The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College in the interests of slaveowners and states with legal slavery. James Madison stated, “suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes.” The Electoral College continues to favor largely homogeneously white states (Codrington, 2019; Joseph, 2020).

Works Cited

..(n.d.). Retrieved from https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp
2016 Electoral College Results. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/2016
About the electors. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/electors
Easley, J. (2020, September 24). Gallup: 61 percent support abolishing the Electoral College. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/517926-gallup-61-percent-support-abolishing-the-electoral-college/
The Electoral College. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college#:~:text=The Electoral College is how,the President and Vice President.
Electoral College Pros and Cons - Top 3 Arguments For and Against. (2022, May 05). Retrieved from https://www.procon.org/headlines/electoral-college-pros-cons-procon-org/
Electoral College keeps elections fair. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/keep-electoral-college-for-fair-presidential-votes-084651
FairVote.org. (n.d.). Past Attempts at Reform. Retrieved from https://www.fairvote.org/past_attempts_at_reform
Five presidential nominees who won popular vote but lost the election. (2016, November 16). Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/popular-vote-electoral-college-five-presidential-nominees-hillary-clinton-al-gore-a7420971.html?scrlybrkr=74e99dd8

III, W. C. (2020, June 16). The Electoral College's Racist Origins. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/electoral-college-racist-origins/601918/
Joseph, O. B. (2020, December 15). Opinion: Shut the door on Trump by ending the electoral college. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/15/opinions/abolish-the-electoral-college-joseph/index.html
Kelly, M. (2019, January 31). How many electors does each state have? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-many-electors-per-state-6719
Legal Provisions Relevant to the Electoral College Process. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/provisions#provisions
Nichols, J. (2015, June 29). Obama's 3 Million Vote, Electoral College Landslide, Majority of States Mandate. Retrieved from https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/obamas-3-million-vote-electoral-college-landslide-majority-states-mandate/
Posner, R. A. (2012, November 12). In Defense of the Electoral College. Retrieved from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/11/defending-the-electoral-college.html
Schulman, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.historycentral.com/elections/Electoralcollgewhy.html
Trent England, C. P. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/debating-the-electoral-college.aspx
Weber, S., & Fong, L. (2016, November 06). This system calls for popular vote to determine winner. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/system-calls-popular-vote-determine-winner
Why America Uses Electoral College, Not Popular Vote for Presidential Election. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/jarrett-stepman/why-america-uses-electoral-college-not-popular-vote-presidential-election

©2022 by Olivia Chiang

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