The Electoral College is Archaic: Let the Popular Vote Decide

This was first published on 11/6/2014 on a blog I wrote for previously (which is no longer being updated).

Did you know the Electoral College was actually a compromise made by our Founding Fathers?  The compromise was made between a vote by Congress and by qualified voters.  According to Presidential Election Laws, Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution reads as follows:

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows 

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electoral College was a sensible solution when the Constitution was enacted.  However, more than 220 years have passed and America, its people, and politics have changed dramatically.  Shouldn't the supreme law of the land change with time?  Its Amendments have improved laws and freedoms of our people, and it is time to call for an Amendment allowing for the popular vote to be the deciding factor in Presidential Elections.

What is the Electoral College?

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) made an excellent video explaining the Electoral College.  I highly recommend taking the few minutes to watch this if you would like to learn more about the Electoral College Process:

Why is the Electoral College Outdated?

There are two arguments to abolish the Electoral College.  

The first would be the logic behind using the popular vote to elect the President and subsequently, the Vice President of the United States.  It's really quite simple.  In other elections, the popular vote wins.  The people vote for the candidate they believe should have the position up for election, and the winner takes all.  It is fair, and it is just.  This is because the popular vote makes every single vote count.  The Center for Voting and Democracy has called for a National Popular Vote Plan bill to "guarantee the Presidency to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia)."

The second argument pertains to abuse of the Electoral College.  As it stands, a majority of states give all Electoral College votes to the candidate with the popular vote.  As noted by the NARA, "most states have a 'winner-take-all' system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate. However, Maine and Nebraska each have a variation of 'proportional representation.'”

"Proportional representation" is where some Republican leaders are trying to take their state, which could possibly make it easier for a Republican Presidential candidate to win more Electoral College votes when popular vote across their state actually favors another party's candidate.  How is this fair?  Is this not abuse of power?  More information on proposed changes to the Electoral College by Republicans can be found here: The New Republican Plan To Rig The 2016 Presidential Election.  Whether or not this actually happens is yet to be seen, but the real issue is how gerrymandering, and a change in the Electoral College could completely kill the democratic process of voting during Presidential Elections.

Interesting Facts

Most of us know that the 2000 Presidential Election was decided by the Electoral College and not by the Popular Vote.  Gore had about 540,000 more popular votes than Bush, yet Bush won the Presidency via the Electoral College vote.  FairVote.org also supplies this interesting tidbit:

...three other presidents have been elected despite losing the popular vote -- John Quincy Adams in 1824, Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, and Benjamin Harrison in 1888. If Abraham Lincoln had faced a single Democratic candidate in 1860, he would have probably lost the popular vote badly, but still won the Electoral College. In any event, he became president with less than 40% of the popular vote. As of 2008, about 1 in 10 of all presidents have been elected without the popular vote, representing about 7% of all elections. There have also been a number of close calls in the 20th century. In addition, presidents are frequently elected with less than 50% of the vote -- meaning that fewer than half of all Americans thought that candidate was the best person for the job.

Take Action!

If you are in favor of a popular vote being the deciding factor of our Presidential Elections, I recommend visiting www.FairVote.org and getting involved with their organization. 

If you want to change the world around you, every small step towards taking action will make a difference.  You may not see the results you want all the time, but anyone can make a difference if they put their heart and soul into it.