The True American Vote: How the current structure of the Electoral College influences elections and does it need to be abolished?
Q: What is the Electoral College?
A: I hope you aren't thinking the Electoral College is an actual college! The Electoral College is a political system that was developed by the Founding Fathers in 1787 and has since served as the groundwork for formally electing the President of the United States. The Electoral College consists of five hundred and thirty eight electors, each from different regions throughout the United States. In terms of representation, the quantity of electors from each state varies due to population size.
Q: How does the Electoral College influence elections?
A: In order for a presidential candidate to successfully obtain the title as President, they must receive at least two hundred and seventy electoral votes. If there is a tie or any form of dispute, the matter will convey to the House of Representatives. The Electoral College was established to prevent the election of someone unfit to hold executive office. At its establishment, the Electoral College was deemed a necessity, however it gives favor to swing states, it is outdated, and it depresses voter turnout.
Q: Can states agree among themselves to give their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner?
A: In final consideration, it is evident that the Electoral College is flawed, but not flawed enough to completely abolish. According to Costas Panagopoulos, Politics professor at Northeastern University, “There is something called the National Vote Interstate Compact, which is an agreement among ten states and Washington, D.C, to allocate their electors to the winner of the national popular vote rather than to the winner of the popular vote of their particular state, which is what the current system does” (Panagopoulos & Weinshenck, 2016, p. 73). This statement expresses the importance that there is no necessity to completely abolish the Electoral College, but it would be best if it were to be amended. Several states, including California, have already pledged to do so if enough other states join the reform bandwagon.
Q: What’s so great about a direct election and why should I care about this issue?
A: The direct election is a staple of what democracy is; it counts all voters equally — just as each state counts all voters equally in a governor’s race. The process of direct election will be enumerated through the enacting of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. (I KNOW I KEEP REFERENCING THIS COMPACT!) As for why you should care, we are entering an election year; one in which the candidate who is elected President will be in office following our graduation from Fairfield. This may potentially have a major economic effect on us as we try to gain a footing in the "real world."
Q: Is the current electoral college system skewed toward
either party?
A: While the system is made out to be balanced, please refer to the next sub-section of my masterpiece, The Five Fake Presidents. (If it were not for the electoral system, these "fantastic five" would not have been elected.) Please make the cursor glide to the Inquiry Analysis tab and select the next subsection (Again, it is called The Five Fake Presidents.)
REPRESENTATION
Management: Vincent Rotondo | vincent.rotondo@student.fairfield.edu