The Electoral College

The Electoral College

The Electoral College is the institution that officially elects the president and vice president of the United States of America every 4 years. The Electoral College was established in 1787. The men who created the constitution debated on several ways to elect the president and vice president they explored ideas such as a direct popular vote, congress voting, state legislators choosing, and then finally agreeing on the Electoral College. Under the initial system, each elector had two votes and the candidate with the most votes was elected president and whoever received the second-highest number of votes was elected vice president ( The electoral College). That was later changed by the 12th Amendment in 1804 (The Electoral College). In order to win presidency the candidate must win 270 out of the 538 electoral votes. Electoral votes are given to states based on the amount of representatives that state has which ultimately translates to the state's population. California (55) has the most electoral votes followed by Texas (34) and New York (31). While the smaller states such as Montana and Wyoming only have 3 votes. In general, the candidate who wins the popular vote also wins the electoral votes but this does not always prove to be true. In the 2004 election Al Gore has won the popular vote by nearly half a

million votes but Bush still one the electoral votes. Clearly, by eliminating the Electoral College the citizens of the United States of America have more voice in the election and America truly gets the president they want.

The process of selecting electors varies throughout the states but in general political parties nominate Electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee in each State. Each candidate will have their own selection of possible Electors. Electors are commonly elected to show dedication to their political party. Electors could be State-elected officials, party leaders, or someone who has a personal or political relation with the Presidential candidate. There is no constitutional provision or any sort of law demanding an elector to vote accordingly to the popular vote. Today, it is rare for Electors to ignore the popular vote by casting their electoral vote for someone other than their party's candidate (Kevin Bosner). Electors generally hold a leadership position in their party or were chosen to recognize years of loyal service to the party. Most electors vote accordingly and more than 99 percent of the electors have voted as pledged throughout our nation's history. In order to win the election a candidate must receive 270 of the electoral votes and if neither of the candidates receives the majority of electoral votes the House of Representatives will choose the president from the top Electoral College vote getters.

Although the Electoral College seems like a good process it has under lying problems that could go wrong with it. Some problems include the possibility of electing a minority president, the risk of "unfaithful" electors, and failure to correctly represent the national popular

vote. The first and most likely biggest problem of the Electoral College is the thought of a minority president getting elected. In certain elections, like the 1824 election, the election is so deeply divided politically that three candidates were semi popular and not a single one received the necessary vote (David Leip). A second way in which a minority president could win is if a candidate's popular support was heavy in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. Another reason the Electoral College may not always reflect the better interest of America is the winner take all mechanism in which the candidate who