The Electoral College was an idea established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. In order to win an election, a candidate must earn 270 Electoral votes even if they win the majority of the popular vote. The Electoral College has been in place for almost 240 years, but it’s time to get rid of it.
Based on recent election data, the College has been causing more bad than good. The most recent instance being the 2016 election between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. Clinton won the popular vote by millions and yet Trump won the electoral vote and assumed the role of 45th president of the United States. 2016 wasn’t the only instance though, as there have been several other Electoral College failings (in the eyes of the people). 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and then 2016 are all reported to have candidates winning the popular vote but the other winning the election.
The more time goes on, the less people trust the College and what it stands for. In the United States, we utilize the “winner-takes-all” method, meaning that there is no room for argument. In other countries, like Germany, they utilize a multi-party system with proportional representation. That means that the party with the most votes earns the majority of the seats. Whichever party wins gets the opportunity to “create a government” and go around to other opposing parties to get them to join their party through negotiating. The problem with multi-party systems is that they cause instability and parties can cause the government to “fall” by leaving.
The U.S. Electoral College can be overruled and replaced with a better system, a stronger system that better represents the American people. By removing the College, the larger states will receive the voting recognition they deserve and missed out on for the past two centuries. Rather than institute another system that may have the same flaws, if not more, as the Electoral College, simply removing it all together is the best course of action.
