Should the electoral college be abolished? If so, what would replace it?
While the creation of the electoral college by our founding fathers may have had the interest of the country in mind, in many ways people feel this system for electing the President of The United States may be unfair. Smaller states feel as though their electoral votes make no difference in the outcome of the Presidential Election; on the other hand, large states believe the smaller states are receiving an unfair advantage at the hands of the electoral college.
Another reason voters may find it unfair is that the electors are randomly chosen or appointed by the state, not the people, and in most cases do not have to vote according to the popular vote in their state, so does the vote of the individual even matter? In five separate cases presidential candidates who won the election did not win the popular vote, and this, among other reasons is why the electoral college is one of the more prominent factors in voter turnout decline.
One of these cases was the recent presidential election in which the final candidates within the major political parties were Donald Trump (Rep.) and Hillary Clinton (Dem.). Hillary Clinton lost the election; however, she won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. These statistics further the questionability of the electoral college’s fairness.
Despite the above reasons some experts will argue that the electoral college is still successful and its use is the most fair. Others argue that it is “outdated” and “needs to be updated to better reflect the outcome of the popular election.”
Taking into account all of the ways the electoral college may be recognized as “unfair” and “outdated," a change is in order. It is true that this system has been successful in the election of presidents, and remains as the election system two centuries after its creation by the founding fathers, but when taking a glance at American history, it is clear that reform has often resulted in the advancement of the country as well as the unification of the people.
There are many different things to consider when looking at ways to improve the electoral college system, because it should not be completely abolished but rather improved. One way in which the electoral college can be improved, which has already occurred in some states, is adding the election of state electors rather than the appointment. This means that the average voter would elect the people to vote in the electoral college, making voters feel more in control of where their votes go. Another solution would be to split the electoral votes as they do in Nebraska or Maine. This makes the voter feel as though their vote mattered and made a difference.
Either of these changes could impact the electoral college system for the better, and in turn, may improve voter turnout. The electoral college is quite literally, old news. Created two centuries ago, it no longer suits the times in which we live. In order to better fit the American society a change to the electoral college is in order.