The electoral college is a system used in the United States to elect the president and vice president. Rather than using the popular vote to determine the winner, voters in each state cast their ballots for a group of electors who then cast their votes. The number of electors each state has is equal to its total number of senators and representatives in Congress. Due to the winner-takes-all system, the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state gets all of its electoral votes. To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes, which is 270 out of 538.
The electoral college was established to serve as a compromise between the popular vote by citizens and a vote in Congress. It was also designed to balance the influence between the large and smaller states, so that the larger ones did not dominate each election.
I think it is definitely time to get rid of the electoral college, because there are a lot of flaws that make it unfair and it is ultimately ineffective. First, it can result in an undemocratic outcome where the individuals’ votes are not actually determining the winner. For instance, in five past elections, a candidate won the popular vote, but did not win the presidency because they did not receive enough electoral votes. This proves that the majority’s preference is not actually being honored. Secondly, while one of the system’s goals is to balance the state’s influence, the larger states are, ironically, being represented more. This is because since they have larger populations, they have more electoral votes. Candidates naturally focus on the bigger states, because it only takes a few of them to win the majority, unlike the small states. Lastly, electors are not constitutionally bound to vote according to their states popular vote. For reference, even if the majority of the state votes democrat, the electors do not technically have to vote for the democratic candidate. While this is rare, the lack of certainty for citizens can be concerning.
If we did get rid of this system, I think it would make sense to simply go by the popular vote. It ensures that every vote carries equal weight, and the candidate with the most votes nationwide wins.
