Third Way: Should The Electoral College Be Abolished?
Giant Asparagus
Most, if not all, American citizens who have completed a high school U.S. history course have likely heard of the Electoral College. But do they really understand it? The mechanics of this civic process is certainly intricate; to deny this would be both an underestimation of the system as a whole, and frankly, a lie. So the question begs to be asked: What is the electoral college and is it time for it to go?
The Electoral College is the process by which the American people elect their most prestigious representatives, the President and Vice President. The Electoral College is comprised of a group of electors who have been selected to represent their state in the Presidential Election. They are responsible for accurately representing the ballots of the voters in their state at the federal level and casting their votes for the candidate who won the most votes in their state. Eligible citizens cast their vote in their home state for the candidate of their choice and it is recorded and counted. Then, the presidential candidate with the most overall votes is selected as the “vote” that will be cast by the Electors of that state.
Each state's Electoral College representative is based on how many seats they hold in Congress; thereby larger states have more electors, smaller states have less. With all of 50 states plus the District of Columbia, we arrive at a grand total of 538 electors! That is 538 electors representing the roughly 276.8 million Americans of voting age living in the United States. But how is such a prestigious group of people even selected?
The process of choosing electors for the Electoral College is actually much simpler than one may expect. The parameters of selection are outlined according to Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, “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.” In essence, this means that “no Elector may be an individual who holds a position within congress or a federal office”.
At face value this process may seem to be one amongst many in terms of federal proceedings that contribute to the overall functioning of the government; its role minor yet important. However, there are many who believe otherwise. In 2024, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 9,720 U.S. adults regarding their thoughts of the relevance of the Electoral College versus a popular vote system. Of these 9,720 participants, an approximate 63% stated that they would “change the current system so the candidate who receives the most votes wins”. This is in comparison to the 35% of participants who said that they would Keep the current system so the candidate who wins the Electoral College vote wins”.
The Electoral College is an outdated system rife with ambiguous instructions, room for abuse of responsibility, and a denial of the majority opinions of the people. America is meant to be a democratic society and within it, the process of democracy upheld and honored as the guidepost for civic life. The Election of this nation’s leader is quite possibly the most paramount of all to the global success and standing of the United States. That being said, with the current process of election denying the popular vote determined by the people, it disregards Americans' right to vote for their Chief of Staff and Commander in Arms, the President of the United States.
If Pew’s research is correct and over half of U.S. adults favor the removal of the Electoral College, then it would be believed that to disregard this opinion would once again be the denial of the people’s popular vote.
For a country that prides itself on its pursuit of freedom and democratic process for all, the very innermost workings of its government seem decidedly not conducive for such a task. If the United States wishes to harken itself as a beacon of equality, then it must start acting like it; from the social responsibilities of its citizens and leaders to the process by which such leaders are elected.