by John Jasper Alday
Many of you might have probably read or heard news stories about some political figures disclosing their desire to abolish the highly contentious, seemingly obscure Electoral College. If you are unfamiliar with the Electoral College, you might be wondering where you have encountered these two words. Most likely, it was discussed in your US History or Government class. Despite having taken the said courses, you might still be puzzled by the concept behind it. What is the Electoral College? Who established it? When was it established? What is the purpose of it? What role does it play in the modern politics?
The Electoral College is a formal body of electors given authority by the public through popular vote to elect the President and Vice President. It was established in Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution by the founding fathers. At the time of its creation, the founding fathers viewed its establishment as a way to ensure that states, regardless of their population or size, are represented equally in the process of selecting the President of the United States.
Further elaborating, Electoral College ensures that heavily populated states such as New York and California are not dictating the way the country operates. You might be wondering, how so? Say, if the Electoral College were to be abolished, and popular vote is the sole determinant of the winner of the Presidential election, sparsely populated states such as Wyoming and the Dakotas would be underrepresented due to its population being defeated by voters in heavily populated states such as New York and California. According to a data from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2017, New York City’s population is 8.263 million and, on the other hand, Wyoming’s population is 578,938. If we were to compare these two populations, it is astonishing that a population of a city far exceeds the population of an entire state by 14.28 times.
Some may say that Electoral College is utterly ineffective and does not at all represent the desire of Americans when it comes to the complex task of choosing the leader of the country; however, the truth is, regardless of the chastisement it receives, it is somewhat of a system that prevents unequal representation among states during the presidential election. Therefore, until we discover a fair system that would be accurately effective when it comes to choosing the leader of our country, the Electoral College will do for now.
Sources:
“Population.” Google, Google, www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&met_y=population&hl=en&dl=en.
National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html.
Avalon Project - Madison Debates - September 6, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_906.asp.
“Electoral College Fast Facts.” US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives, history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/.