Electoral College Needs Change
One of the most current discussions about the election is the system which allowed the unpopular Republican candidate, Donald Trump, to be elected to the presidency. Many people think the system in which we elect our President is heavily flawed, namely because of the Electoral College -- a process almost as old as our country that uses electors from each state as the deciders of the President, not the popular vote.The Electoral College was established with the Constitution in 1789. While it made sense to the Founding Fathers at the time, many have come to believe it is outdated and unfairly gives larger representation to people in smaller states. Candidates can lose even if they have the most votes nationwide, as is the case this year, with Hillary Clinton winning over 1 million more votes than her victorious opponent. With the system we have now our election is being decided by a handful of people chosen by the winning party in each state. For example, Trump won the popular vote in Florida, so Republican electors from Florida have been chosen to cast their ballots as electors for him in December. Although technically these electors could vote against the winning candidate in their state, this is extremely unusual and has never changed the results decided upon on Election Night. “I don’t know much about the system but I have heard it’s very unjustified. I have also heard people are really trying to change it,” Ava Shanley (’19) said. “I think it’s a big reason Trump got elected.”Other students at Samo, including Bradley Hall (’17), agree with Shanley about the unfair nature of the system.“I always thought that it was stupid that they had Electoral College the way they have it,” Hall said. “It’s an easy way to not represent how the people want to be represented.” What is really important in this issue is how can we change this system to better help reflect the choice of leader for this country. A reform of the Electoral College system would require a Constitutional amendment, and to get a Constitutional amendment passed, it’s necessary to have support from two-thirds of the House and the Senate, or two-thirds of state legislators. To start this movement of putting a better electoral system would be, we need to spread the word. Help and support any petition you hear about trying to change the system. Another way people are trying to change our election system is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It’s an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all their respective electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the overall popular vote. Only 270 electors’ worth of states have to sign on in order for it be effective. We are currently at 165. To support this compact, sign any petition you can find, contact local legislators and educate your community. Although it won’t change the direct result of this 2016 election, it will help for future elections to come. We as future voters shouldn’t let of vote count in an unjust system.
- In 1824, Andrew Jackson won the popular vote but received less than half of the electoral votes. He lost out to John Quincy Adams.
- in 1876, Samuel Tilden won the popular vote but lost the election by one electoral vote to Rutherford B Hayes
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- In 1888, Grover Cleveland also clinched the most popular votes in the country but conceded his 168 electoral college votes to Benjamin Harrison’s 233 electoral votes.
- In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote but lost out to George W Bush.