"Electoral Geography in America: The Electoral College" by Daniel W.
Since the year 1804, every United States President has been elected through a process called the Electoral College. When the founding fathers were deciding how the President would be elected, one group believed that a popular vote should determine the victor, while the other group believed state representatives should vote for their preferred candidates. Rather than simply having it one way or the other, the founding fathers believed that the Electoral College was a sufficient compromise.
Under the Electoral College, each state has a number of electors based on the state’s number of representatives. This ensures each state has at least three electors, which gives lower populated states a lot more power in the election process than they would under a popular vote system. Even though the number of representatives from each state is based on the population in their state, the number of voters each elector represents in disproportionate. This is due to the Senate, where there are two representatives from each state, no matter the population. In essence, the Electoral College was the Great Compromise 2.0.
Over time, however, many Americans have begun to oppose the idea of the electoral college. While there have only been five instances where the elected President lost the popular vote, the last two Republican Presidents have been elected in that manner. Katy Collin of The Washington Post claims, “If all votes were weighed evenly, Clinton would have received 259 votes in the electoral college. Trump would have 256.” Many have been asking why just living in a certain state gives a vote more power and influence. In a country that prides itself in “liberty and justice for all”, shouldn’t each citizen get an equal say in who their President is? Senator Elizabeth Warren came out it opposition of the Electoral College earlier this year: "Every vote matters,"... "And the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting and that means get rid of the Electoral College." Warren, a Democrat, witnessed President Trump defeat Hillary Clinton by seventy-four electoral votes, while also losing the popular vote by around three million people. Republicans argue that it would be unwise to leave the Electoral College because it would diminish minority power greatly. To put this into perspective, President Trump won the popular vote in 2,649 counties across America in the 2016 Presidential Election. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 503 counties. According to the Breitbart News Network, President Trump won a 7.5 million popular vote victory in 3,084 of America’s counties. This means that in just fifty-seven counties Clinton won by over 10 million votes. At this point in time, Democrats are favored more in places with high population densities, or urban areas, while Republicans are favored more in places with low population densities, or rural areas. Age likely has an impact on this; polls have shown that older people tend to lean to the right, while younger people lean left. As this generation of Democrat supporters ages, however, they might retire to rural locations with lower costs of living. This, in turn, would lead to a much more balanced Electoral College.
In the last week, President Trump has been facing impeachment down as if he has nothing to hide. In an effort to intimidate House Democrats, he tweeted an image that is intended to represent his supporters across the country. This has caused much of the left-wing media to clarify exactly what this graph exactly means. Hopefully Americans will be able to become more aware of how the Electoral College works and how where they live affects it.
Do you believe the Electoral College should still be used today? How should Americans take steps to change the effects of the Electoral College if needed? Would you support a movement to move to a different state to make the number of electors “more fair?”
Under the Electoral College, each state has a number of electors based on the state’s number of representatives. This ensures each state has at least three electors, which gives lower populated states a lot more power in the election process than they would under a popular vote system. Even though the number of representatives from each state is based on the population in their state, the number of voters each elector represents in disproportionate. This is due to the Senate, where there are two representatives from each state, no matter the population. In essence, the Electoral College was the Great Compromise 2.0.
Over time, however, many Americans have begun to oppose the idea of the electoral college. While there have only been five instances where the elected President lost the popular vote, the last two Republican Presidents have been elected in that manner. Katy Collin of The Washington Post claims, “If all votes were weighed evenly, Clinton would have received 259 votes in the electoral college. Trump would have 256.” Many have been asking why just living in a certain state gives a vote more power and influence. In a country that prides itself in “liberty and justice for all”, shouldn’t each citizen get an equal say in who their President is? Senator Elizabeth Warren came out it opposition of the Electoral College earlier this year: "Every vote matters,"... "And the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting and that means get rid of the Electoral College." Warren, a Democrat, witnessed President Trump defeat Hillary Clinton by seventy-four electoral votes, while also losing the popular vote by around three million people. Republicans argue that it would be unwise to leave the Electoral College because it would diminish minority power greatly. To put this into perspective, President Trump won the popular vote in 2,649 counties across America in the 2016 Presidential Election. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 503 counties. According to the Breitbart News Network, President Trump won a 7.5 million popular vote victory in 3,084 of America’s counties. This means that in just fifty-seven counties Clinton won by over 10 million votes. At this point in time, Democrats are favored more in places with high population densities, or urban areas, while Republicans are favored more in places with low population densities, or rural areas. Age likely has an impact on this; polls have shown that older people tend to lean to the right, while younger people lean left. As this generation of Democrat supporters ages, however, they might retire to rural locations with lower costs of living. This, in turn, would lead to a much more balanced Electoral College.
In the last week, President Trump has been facing impeachment down as if he has nothing to hide. In an effort to intimidate House Democrats, he tweeted an image that is intended to represent his supporters across the country. This has caused much of the left-wing media to clarify exactly what this graph exactly means. Hopefully Americans will be able to become more aware of how the Electoral College works and how where they live affects it.
Do you believe the Electoral College should still be used today? How should Americans take steps to change the effects of the Electoral College if needed? Would you support a movement to move to a different state to make the number of electors “more fair?”
Collin, Katy. “The Electoral College Badly Distorts the Vote. And It's Going to Get Worse.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Nov. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/11/17/the-electoral-college-badly-distorts-the-vote-and-its-going-to-get-worse/.
Geographic Society of Chicago. “The Electoral College Explained.” The Geographic Society of Chicago, The Geographic Society of Chicago Https://Www.geographicsociety.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/2014/08/Logo-300x98.Png, 31 Oct. 2016, www.geographicsociety.org/the-electoral-college-explained/.
Leahy, Michael Patrick. “Donald Trump Won 7.5 Million Popular Vote Landslide in Heartland.” Breitbart, 15 Nov. 2016, www.breitbart.com/politics/2016/11/15/donald-trump-won-7-5-million-popular-vote-landslide-mainstream-america/.
Parks, Miles. “Abolishing The Electoral College Would Be More Complicated Than It May Seem.” NPR, NPR, 22 Mar. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/03/22/705627996/abolishing-the-electoral-college-would-be-more-complicated-than-it-may-seem.
Rhodan, Maya, and David Johnson. “Election 2016: 7 Maps Predict Paths to Electoral Victory.” Time, Time, time.com/4561625/electoral-college-predictions/.
I think they the United States should continue to keep the Electoral College. More times than not, the winner of the popular vote does also win the most Electoral votes as well. The Electoral College was created by the founding fathers and it should continue to stay in place. Also, it makes presidential candidates campaign all across the country rather than only in high populated areas. I would not move to another state on the basis of leveling out the Electoral College. I don't believe me moving to another state will have a big enough impact on the votes. However, i feel like some groups of people could have enough impact if they all moved somewhere else, and others would follow them.
ReplyDeleteI am kinda on the fence about the Electoral College. I think that it definitely has its issues, one of the most important ones for me is that it weakens individual votes because if your party did not win at the state level then it does not matter as well as the idea of your vote having a different value depending on which side of an abstract line you live on does not seem good. However, I also understand its utility. It allows each state to have a voice in electing who becomes the leader of our country. I think that we should vote weather most of America wants to keeps the Electoral College, which seems slightly ironic.
ReplyDeleteOops, the above comment was me.
DeleteI think we should keep the electoral college. It makes the smaller states important. It also forces candidates to campaign everywhere and not just focus on the higher population states. Going back to what you said earlier, generally urban places are pointed more toward the left, and rural is more pointed towards the right. That also proves that more rural states wouldn't get as much of a say. Anyways, I like the facts that you provided, and the quotes that you had also.
ReplyDelete