Role of the Electoral College today

The Constitutional Congress of 1787 faced a challenge whose solution would determine the course of history for the United States: outline the values of the country and establish laws that reflect those values.

The drafting of the Constitution considered many problems the United States would face, including the election of new presidential leadership. To address this problem, the Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters was formed. This committee invented the Electoral College nearly identical to the system still in use today.

The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of America that formally vote for a president and vice president.

In other words, history.com explains, “When Americans vote for a President and Vice President, they are actually voting for presidential electors, known collectively as the Electoral College.”

The fruits of the labors of the Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters are represented in Article II, Section One of the Constitution, outlining the Electoral College system. Each state appoints a number of electors equal to the number of senators and the number of representatives. The presidential ticket that earns the majority of electoral votes placed on the Monday after the second Wednesday of December wins the presidency.

The only requirements for Electors are that they are not senators, representatives, someone “holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States” and are over 18 years of age.

Initially, history.com continued, “more than half the states chose electors in their legislatures, thus eliminating any direct involvement by the voting public in the election.”

This changed in the early 19th century; today, voters select all electors.

Regarding who composes the Electoral College, history.com explained, “Candidates for elector may be well known persons, such as governors, state legislators, or other state and local officials, they generally do not receive public recognition as electors.”

“In fact, in most states, the names of individual electors do not appear anywhere on the ballot; instead only those of the various candidates for President and Vice President appear, usually prefaced by the words ‘electors for,’” history.com noted.

The lack of recognition towards Electors, along with recent controversy, question whether the Electoral College be eliminated. A potentially compelling argument can be made to opt for the direct election of presidents through popular vote.

However, as the Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters initially intended, the Electoral College fulfills a purpose in American government.

In debating the use of the Electoral College instead of primary elections, Tara Ross of Prager University asked, “Why did they create, and why do we continue to need, this Electoral College?”

It should first be distinguished the difference between a pure democracy and a representative democracy: the former consists of people voting on issues directly, as in the popular vote, while the latter features elected officials that represent a group of people, as in the Electoral College.

Ross explained, “The Founders had no intention of creating a pure majority-rule democracy.”

O. R. Adams Jr., editor of American Traditions Magazine, explained, “Our Founders very much feared creating a government that had too many aspects of a pure democracy. They feared the destructiveness that a majority might have in trying to make everyone equal…”

To avoid a slippery slope towards socialism and to prevent the potential tyranny of a bare majority, the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Congress of 1787 established checks and balances.

The idea behind the Electoral College is that it creates a balance of power between voters of densely populated and rural states.

Ross explained, “The system encourages coalition-building and national campaigning. In order to win, a candidate must have the support of many different types of voters, from various parts of the country.”

The Electoral College serves a purpose and amending the Constitution would have repercussions. Whether these repercussions are worth accepting remains controversial.

Undeniably, American voters find themselves in the middle of changing times.

The debate surrounding the Electoral College considers the Constitution in context of today’s society: did the system devised by our Founding Fathers account for the changes of modern day?

Are American values the same as they were in 1787?

The fate of the Electoral College should reflect America’s answers to those questions.