The Electoral College is the institution that officially elects the President and Vice-President of the United States during the country’s elections. In every state (and Washington, D.C.), electors are chosen by popular vote. The number of electors is the same number of representatives that each state has in the House of Representatives, with D.C. having as many as the smallest state. Besides in Maine and Nebraska, the electors vote for the presidential candidates on a “winner-takes-all” basis, meaning that if the majority of a state votes for one candidate, then all of the electors for that state will put their votes towards that candidate. For a candidate to be voted into office, they must receive at least 270 electoral votes, called the “absolute majority”.
The Electoral College was created to ensure that the elected president would have support across the country, rather than states with a high population, and therefore more electoral votes. However, it is also used to establish support for the new president, so that they enter their term with sufficient support from the American people. These arguments seem to be enough for the American people, as there have not been any major disputes against the system. Nonetheless, there are many people who individually protest the Electoral College. One of the largest arguments is that it creates labels for certain states, so that candidates know that they will never be able to win or lose that state, as shown on the map below. The states in blue are labeled as Democratic states, while the red ones are labeled as Republican. During the elections, candidates rarely visit these states because they are confident in the state’s vote. The yellow states are most commonly known as “swing states”, and are the most important places for candidates during their campaigns. They spend the most time and money visiting these places, especially the most populous ones (ex. Florida). The Electoral College also makes it very difficult for third party candidates to have a successful campaign. Indeed, no third party member has ever been elected president, but often are absorbed by or return to one of the two major parties. However, many argue that encouraging a two-party system creates political stability.
A famous example of controversy regarding use of the Electoral College is the 2000 presidential election of George W. Bush over Al Gore. In the case of this election, Gore had 543,895 more popular votes than Bush, but Bush won the election with a total of 271 electoral votes over Gore’s 266. Many argue that this is unfair, due to the fact that more citizens voted for Gore. However, the primary purpose of the Electoral College is to ensure that support for the president is widespread throughout the country. The map below shows which American states voted for which candidate, with the red representing states that voted for Bush, and blue representing the states that voted for Gore. Simply by looking at the map, it would appear that Bush had a significantly larger number of votes. This is because support for him was spread across the country, rather than just concentrated in a few high-population states.
The Electoral College was created to ensure that the elected president would have support across the country, rather than states with a high population, and therefore more electoral votes. However, it is also used to establish support for the new president, so that they enter their term with sufficient support from the American people. These arguments seem to be enough for the American people, as there have not been any major disputes against the system. Nonetheless, there are many people who individually protest the Electoral College. One of the largest arguments is that it creates labels for certain states, so that candidates know that they will never be able to win or lose that state, as shown on the map below. The states in blue are labeled as Democratic states, while the red ones are labeled as Republican. During the elections, candidates rarely visit these states because they are confident in the state’s vote. The yellow states are most commonly known as “swing states”, and are the most important places for candidates during their campaigns. They spend the most time and money visiting these places, especially the most populous ones (ex. Florida). The Electoral College also makes it very difficult for third party candidates to have a successful campaign. Indeed, no third party member has ever been elected president, but often are absorbed by or return to one of the two major parties. However, many argue that encouraging a two-party system creates political stability.
A famous example of controversy regarding use of the Electoral College is the 2000 presidential election of George W. Bush over Al Gore. In the case of this election, Gore had 543,895 more popular votes than Bush, but Bush won the election with a total of 271 electoral votes over Gore’s 266. Many argue that this is unfair, due to the fact that more citizens voted for Gore. However, the primary purpose of the Electoral College is to ensure that support for the president is widespread throughout the country. The map below shows which American states voted for which candidate, with the red representing states that voted for Bush, and blue representing the states that voted for Gore. Simply by looking at the map, it would appear that Bush had a significantly larger number of votes. This is because support for him was spread across the country, rather than just concentrated in a few high-population states.