After years of controversial Presidential victories, the movement against the Electoral College has grown tremendously. With politicians and citizens both reaping the consequences of Elections such as the 2016 Presidential Election, many have found that the Electoral College is no longer fit for our system of government.
The reasons the Electoral College no longer fits our system of government are the very reasons it was created.
1. Education– Sitting lack of educated citizens as one of the reasons for creating the Electoral College, the Founding Fathers wanted only the elite to vote for the president. Yet, we are now in a time in which more citizens finish K-12 and attend college than ever before. This evolution of education shows that regular citizens no longer need a buffer to stand in the way of their vote.
2.Information Outlets- With few media and news outlets during its time of creation, the Electoral College was implemented to make sure those who were not informed would not be controlling the election. Now that we are in the digital era in which there is a 24 hour news cycle and access to information on almost every electronic device, the fear of the uniformed citizens has been eliminated.
3. Small States– Citing the tension between the larger and smaller states as an issue the Electoral College was to solve, the Founding Fathers missed the mark. Allocating representatives by population, the larger states such as California having 57 reprensatives, these larger states mean so much more during the election than a small state such as Delaware: which has the minimum of 3 reprensatives. Since the larger states typically matter more to the outcome of the election, candidates typically care less about campaigning in small states, causing even more tension between them.
4. Establishing Democracy– Hoping to establish America as a democratic nation after breaking free of Great Britain’s rule, the Electoral College was establish. Despite the founding fathers aspirations for it, if anything, the Electoral College is undemocratic. Forcing the people to vote for people to represent them seems democratic, until their representative gets to determine if they will cast their vote as is or if they will flip it for just cause. This system also contradicts the popular vote, which shows a candidates true support as it is the “one man-one vote” system the people want. By allowing the reprensatives final vote to determine the President, the constituents vote is basically void and useless.
Despite their vision for it, the founding fathers established an electoral college that is deceitful and undemocratic. Failing to fulfill its original purpose, the Electoral College is outdated system that is contradictory to the core value of America: Democracy.