Confused About the Electoral College?
With the impending presidential election on everyone’s mind – both here in America and around the globe – I decided to try to better understand the election process to see how are voting system works. After the Bush-Gore debacle back in 2000, I realized that the electoral college can undermine what the actual people want. So here’s a quick history and explanation about the electoral college.
Whose idea was the electoral college?
James Madison, one of our founding fathers, added the electoral college to the Constitution to provide a check system to prevent a “tyranny of the majority.” In other words, Madison thought it best to have a small group represent all of the people to make sure that decisions are made in the citizens’ best interests. This assumes, of course, that the citizens don’t know what’s best for themselves.
Do elected officials consider their constituents’ mindset before casting their votes?
In the past, there have been 82 votes that have gone against the people’s wishes. Today, 29 states (of 50) require electors to represent the people’s wishes, but 21 states allow electors to go rogue. That’s 2/3s of the nation with elected officials who can choose whatever path they like regardless of their constituents’ support.
How are electoral votes determined?
Distribution of votes is based on the state’s population. Every 10 years, votes are reallocated after the national census is conducted. There are 538 electoral votes: 435 from the House of Representatives, 100 from the Senate (2 per state), and 3 from the District of Columbia. California has the most votes (55) followed be Texas (38), New York (29) and Florida (29). The states with the least votes are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. 48 states have winner takes all the votes except Nebraska and Maine (divide their votes proportionately).
How many electoral votes are needed to win?
270. If there is a tie, the House of Representatives elects the president. The crazy part about the electoral college is that a candidate can win the presidency without getting any votes from 39 states and the District of Columbia! WHAT? That means that a candidate could win just 11 states and become president.
What are “swing” states?
Swing states are those that don’t have a consistent history of voting either Republican or Democrat. Candidates spend most of their time campaigning in these states, especially as the election day approaches. Swing states are usually Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Can a candidate win the popular vote, but not win the presidential election?
Yes. This happened to Al Gore in 2000. He won the popular vote – more people voted for him than Bush — but he didn’t secure the 270 electoral votes needed to become president. So we ended up with Bush.
While I understand the need to have policies in place to prevent a hysterical movement from overtaking our government, I believe that with a popular vote, we will have a more balanced campaign season and we’ll elect a president who better represents the people.
In California, it seems we rarely see candidates on the campaign trail because we’re a blue (Democratic) and winner take all state. By going with the popular vote, we’ll see more Independents and possibly break the reign of our two-party system. So I lean towards the popular vote, and wish this was already in place.