The United States’ Electoral College, the federal voting system established by the Constitution as a compromise between the election of the president being determined by Congress or by a popular vote of American citizens, has become an issue of heated dispute in recent years.
The practice notably faced strong criticism after the 2016 elections, when Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton lost to Former President Donald Trump despite having received nearly 3 million more popular votes. With growing dissent from both primary parties and a nationwide push to reform the electoral process, however, the Electoral College faces a powerful risk of being abolished and losing its status as an American institution in the coming years.
To begin with, the Electoral College comprises members of Congress, with every senator and representative serving as an elector. Each state consists of two senators and a variable number of representatives, determined by their population, and the District of Columbia is given three electoral votes, resulting in a total of 538 electors in the Electoral College.
When voters select a candidate, they are actually voting for a slate of electors that have pledged to elect that candidate in December, which is when all electoral votes are formally submitted to the president of the Senate. These votes are then counted in a joint Congress session in January, with the candidate who receives at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes becoming president for the term.
If no candidate receives 270 votes, however, the House of Representatives elects the president with a single vote per state and the Senate elects the vice president. Some electors, however, choose to vote against their pledged candidate and are deemed “faithless voters.” These voters are rare and have never impacted the results of an election and are usually penalized and replaced by most states.
Originally, the Electoral College was established to protect minority interests from being overshadowed by large, populous states. It also aimed to promote national campaigning, deterring candidates from ignoring rural areas to focus primarily on dense urban districts. Over time, however, the practice has led to the creation of a two-party system and has emphasized campaigning in swing states while neglecting states with predictable results. The electoral process is also very complicated and discourages voters in majority states who feel that their vote doesn’t hold any significance. Furthermore, there have been five instances of candidates losing the popular vote and still winning through the Electoral College, which has resulted in decreased voter confidence in election results.
As a result, many states have pushed to reform the Electoral College. Most notable is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement between states to award all of their electoral votes to the candidate who receives the national popular vote. The movement, which has been enacted by the District of Columbia and 17 other states, has received 209 of the 270 electoral votes that are needed for it to take effect federally. That would ensure that the candidate who wins the popular vote will receive the majority of electoral votes needed to become president.
The United States’ Electoral College was formed initially to safeguard the interests of the minority. As changing political climates and a swiftly diversifying culture have deteriorated the system, however, it may be time to introduce greatly needed reform to the electoral process.
