
By Jonah Marshall, Staff Writer
The Electoral College was introduced in the Constitution, although the term Electoral College does not appear and is referred to as electors. It involves 538 electors, all 435 house seats plus 100 senate seats, and 3 delegates (Individuals who speaks on behalf of a body) from Washington D.C. The winning Presidential candidate must receive at least 270 electoral votes. James Wilson, associate justice of the Supreme Court and one of the founding fathers proposed at the Annapolis Convention (Convention in Philadelphia to rewrite the Articles of Confederation in 1786) to let the people decide instead of Congress by a vote.
In 1804, the 12th amendment clarified this as the lay of the land and replaced the original Article One Electors note in the constitution. In 1804 there were 176 votes.
George W. Bush in 2000, won the Electoral College, but lost the popular vote to then Vice President Al Gore, and Donald Trump won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The US is the only democracy that uses the Electoral College model to determine a winner in an election for the Head of State.
In order to amend the Electoral College process, two-thirds of both the House and Senate need to vote in favor of it, and three-fourths of the country’s states need to vote in favor of it or ratify it. It is a near impossible task with the divisions currently in politics in the country.
The Electoral College was closest to being abolished in 1969. The measure passed the House, but failed in the Senate. Then-President Richard Nixon supported abolishing the Electoral College.
On Tuesday, The Democracy Commitment sponsored a panel discussion on the Electoral College. You can view the panel at the at the embedded video.
Support for a popular vote.
According to a Gallup poll, 80% of US adults are in favor of the Electoral College being abolished. According to Pew Research findings, 6 in 10 Americans prefer a popular vote for president, 47% of Republicans favor a popular vote, 87% of progressive-liberals favor a popular vote, and 74% of conservative and moderate Democrats prefer a popular vote.
Not only do the majority of Americans favor a popular vote, but moving to one would ensure that every American feels heard and would increase voter turnout.
It also should seem like common sense that the candidate with the most votes should win. Why is the winner not the person that receives the majority of votes?