The electoral college is a group of 538 electors that represent the states in the presidential election. Each state’s electoral votes are determined by their number of representatives in congress, which is proportional to each state’s population. If a candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes, they win the election. This was created as a compromise to balance the interests of both smaller and larger states, creating a middle-ground between the president being elected by congress or US citizens. Typically, the winning presidential representative in the electoral college reflects the same result as the popular vote. However, this system has failed four times since 1824. Because of this, critics have argued that the electoral college should be abolished as it has proven to not be representative of the views of the population. While eliminating the electoral college will allow the election results to symbolize a more efficient reflection of the entire population, it should not be abolished due to the major role it plays in maintaining national visions with democratic processes. However, I believe that the electoral college system should be reformed to have district by district voting to further balance the votes to the population. This will continue the concept that the election results will ultimately be determined by qualified, educated representatives, developing a proper, informed decision. If the electoral college is abolished, it is likely that the president will be elected by the popular vote. This will ensure that every individual vote will be accounted for. Regardless, the electoral college is a decent depiction of the general public’s preferred presidential candidate, but the system can be significantly improved with proper reform strategies.
