What exactly is the Electoral College?
What a bizarre journey it is been. After a difficult and, in some quarters, shocking election, we are once again confronted with the anomalies of our political system. Of course, I am referring to the Electoral College. In a repeat of 2000, the candidate who received the most votes did not win the president, leaving many Americans dissatisfied with the outcome as well as the value of their vote.
This is not to say your vote is not important; on the contrary, it is. The Electoral College, on the other hand, exists as an anachronism in our representative democracy. Until blockbuster events like the 2000 election, Bush v. Gore, this was an often overlooked portion of our constitution. So, now that it has being thrust back into the limelight, let us give it the attention it deserves.
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What Is the Electoral College and How Does It Function?
The Electoral College is enshrined in Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution:
“[The President] shall be elected, along with the Vice President, for the same term, as follows: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors equal to the total Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.”
The finer specifics have evolved throughout time, but the broad rules have remained essentially similar. The president is decided by a group of people, 538 in total, divided by state. These electors function similarly to our traditional representatives. Electors normally vote with the district they represent, however this is not required by law. The candidate with the most votes, at least 270, is declared the winner.
On a state level, each election is a winner-take-all event, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, which allow for a divided share of electoral votes. This implies that a state’s electoral votes may be claimed by any size majority.
In many respects, the college’s purpose is to guarantee that isolated sections of the country do not have a disproportionate effect on national politics. Otherwise, California and New York may conceivably rule the states in our country’s heartland. While it may pique the interest of politically engaged persons on the coasts, it is unlikely to pique the interest of the typical Iowan.
Who Are the Voters?
After learning what electors do, the next obvious inquiry is “who are these people?” Electors are arguably better characterised by what they aren’t. Electors are not state legislators, senators, or anybody else in a position of political power in the United States. Aside from treasonous instances, they are the sole criteria under the Constitution.
Electors, on the other hand, are nominated and appointed by the ruling political parties. In general, each party will select a panel of electors and determine who is elected in their own committees. As a consequence, each electoral district has numerous electors, one from each party. The voting populace ultimately decides who becomes an elector. When you vote for a presidential candidate, you are also voting for the elector nominated by the candidate’s party. Because electors are not obligated to follow the public vote, associating them with their candidate is a simple technique to reduce the likelihood of “rogue electors.”
What Happens When Electoral Votes Contradict Popular Votes?
We are back, and as you have seen, the Electoral College is the determining element in our presidential elections. While the popular vote usually correlates with the college vote, it is ultimately meaningless in determining the winner.
What causes this?
Members of the Electoral College, as previously noted, usually invariably vote with the majority in their district. Despite this, there may be disparities since the college may render the margin of victory inconsequential in most states. For example, if every eligible voter in California voted for a single candidate, that candidate would earn almost thirty million votes and all of California’s 55 electoral votes. In contrast, if a contender won California by a single vote, they would win all 55 delegates despite receiving only half of the votes cast. This allows for circumstances in which one candidate may win by landslide in some populous states but lose by razor-thin margins in so-called battleground states, so losing the electoral struggle.
Secretary Clinton had significant victories in California and New York, but close defeats in states like Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. As a consequence, President-Elect Trump received massive electoral victories despite finishing slightly behind in the popular vote.
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There has been a lot of drama around Tuesday’s election, but this is not the first time the Electoral College has gone against the voting people; in fact, it has occurred four times before. In 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected president over populist Andrew Jackson; Jackson would win the presidency again in 1828. In the heated election of 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel J. Tilden. In 1888, incumbent Grover Cleveland was defeated in his re-election campaign by Benjamin Harrison. Last but not least, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore in 2000, eventually winning the popular vote by a margin of five to four.
If the existing system is maintained, this will not be the final election determined by the Electoral College, as it has been in the past. Whether or not that is an issue likely depends on which side you were on; but in light of the recent divisiveness, and this equally divided electoral finale, Winston Churchill’s words, “indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time,” can be helpful.
