Electoral College Essay 1

Anna Cook

POS-301

08/13/2021
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Electoral College Essay

Creation of the Electoral College in the United States

One of the most complex systems occurring in the United States is the Electoral College.

The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers of the country in the Constitution to

aid in the election of the President ("What is the Electoral College?", 2019). In order for a presi-

dential candidate to win, they must gain the majority of the electoral college votes. There are 538

electoral votes available to be won, and the candidate must get at least 270 in order to win the

election. The amount of the electors chosen for each state is dependent upon the number of mem-

bers in its Congressional delegation. The way that the electors are chosen can vary depending on

state laws, although the candidate running in each state typically has a group of electors, known

as a slate, chosen by the political party in that particular state. The process typically consists of

the electors being chosen, those who are elected for the electoral college then will meet and cast

their vote for the presidential nominees followed by the counting of the electoral college votes.

Popular Vote Vs. Electoral College

Although individual citizens cast their vote for the president, the result of their votes does

not automatically elect the new president. Those elected for the electoral college are supposed to

vote in a way that is cohesive with the popular vote (Ray, 2021). The majority of states, 48 to be

precise, have a “winner-take-all” policy in which the candidate that wins the popular vote wins

for that state, with Nebraska and Maine have a different process called “proportional representa-

tion.” The electors meet after the general election, meeting in their own states to cast their votes,

the votes are recorded on a Certificate of Vote, and that Certificate is then sent to Congress. Con-
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Electoral College Essay
gress counts the votes of the Electoral College and it is put into the official records. On January

6th, a joint session of Congress is held for the vote counting. The Vice President then presents

the results of the vote and finally the new Vice President and President of the United States are

announced by the President of the Senate. Following this, the new President is sworn in a year

after the general election on January 20th ("What is the Electoral College?", 2019). As stated, the

electoral college typically votes for the candidate who has the popular vote, there have been odd

cases in which the elected individuals vote outside of the popular vote, such as in the recent 2016

United States Presidential election where Donald Trump became president and in the 2000 elec-

tion with George W. Busch (Ray, 2021).

The 2000 election ended with George W. Bush being elected into office after it came

down to a decision made by the Supreme Court. Al Gore, the candidate running against George

W. Bush, had actually won the popular vote by 543,895 votes; a staggering difference presented

to the public after the election, but he did not win the Electoral College. Although Florida ini-

tially declared easily that Gore would take the state, it later changed and they decided it was too

close to call; later the 25 electoral votes available to Florida was given to George W. Bush

(Kennedy, 2021). This caused a great deal of accusations and calls for recounts, claiming that

there had been voter suppression. Further complicating the issue, the governor of Florida at the

time of the election was George W. Bush’s younger brother, Jeb Bush. Due to how long every-

thing was taking, the Supreme Court had given them a warning, which was dismissed and sent

back, leaving the Supreme Court no other option but to pursue it themselves and make the deci-

sion. With Florida’s electoral college votes, it left Bush in the lead 271 to 266 votes (Kennedy,

2021).
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Electoral College Essay
Shockingly, the 2016 election showed an even greater difference in numbers when it

came to the fight against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, with Hillary leading in the popular

vote by millions. In our history, the winner of the presidential campaign has been the loser of the

popular vote a total of 5 times, including in 2016, 2000, 1824, 1876, and in 1888. Since the elec-

toral college typically is supposed to align with the popular vote, it has been called into question

more than once (including by former president Donald Trump who claimed the electoral college

was a “disaster for a democracy”) since it appears that even when a candidate has the vote of the

majority of the population, the results can be changed in the favor of the opposing candidate

(Roth, 2021).

Value of Individual Citizen Votes

When presented with the above information, it is easy to see why American citizens feel

as though the Electoral College should be abolished. Although it has been in place since the

1800’s and there have only been a few instances where the outcomes of the election had been

changed against what the popular vote was, it is still enough to cause a lot of doubt in the system

and could be enough to discourage citizens from voting for fear of their vote not counting. With

Hillary Clinton having well over 3 million more popular votes than Donald Trump and the Elec-

toral College giving the win to Donald Trump, that leaves a lot of people feeling cheated out of

their votes. In my personal opinion, the Electoral College, along with the rest of the government

should go through a reforming process to improve issues we have had for the past several

decades and attempt to restore the American citizens faith in the government.
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Electoral College Essay
References

Kennedy, L. (2021). How the 2000 Election Came Down to a Supreme Court Decision.
Retrieved 16 August 2021, from https://www.history.com/news/2000-election-bush-
gore-votes-supreme-court

Ray, M. (2021). How Does the Electoral College Work?. Retrieved 16 August 2021,
from https://www.britannica.com/story/how-does-the-electoral-college-work
Roth, Z. (2021). How Americans chose Hillary Clinton, but got Donald Trump. Retrieved
16 August 2021, from https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-election-day/elec-
toral-college-lesson-more-voters-chose-hillary-clinton-trump-will-n681701

Sherman, J. (2021). Why does America have the Electoral College — and should
we keep it?. Retrieved 16 August 2021, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/
electoral-college-system-founders-united-states/

What is the Electoral College?. (2019). Retrieved 16 August 2021, from https://
www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about