Creation of the electoral College
The Electoral College is a means of indirectly appointing the President in the United States. It offers a check on direct election by the citizens if they might have got it wrong. It is a form of the elite theory of ensuring that direct elections did not produce a poor candidate for the highest office in the State, in case the direction shared the vote and the incapable candidate is selected by popular vote.
How and When it was Created
The founding fathers of the United States generated the Electoral College out of the twelfth amendment in 1787. Prior to the formulation of the Electoral College, there were numerous debates such as the possibilities of congress electing the president or using the popular vote to automatically pick the president (Kimberling, 1992). Unfortunately, all these ideas were overlooked as a result of fear for too much government involvement as well as a lack of civic education among the citizens to make the right decision. Thus, the committee suggested that the president be elected indirectly by the Collage Electors (Kimberling, 1992). Consequently, the College Electors become the Electoral College to generate excellent harmony between the citizens and government involvement.
Reasons for the Creation
The primary aim of creating the Electoral College was to authenticate fairness in the presidential election for both the government and the citizens. The founding fathers realized it was dangerous to have let the government have full authority over the president since it undermined their reasons for democracy and as a result of proper coordination among the people, the popular vote could not have the full say. It was obvious that most states would not be able to make the best decisions while voting since there were limited communication channels (Kimberling, 1992). Again, the Electoral College aimed to provide a voice to states with low populations. For instance, Montana state which is less populated with most people being farmers would want their interest reached the president before making their decision to vote but competing against large and populated states like California would not be easy. It is, therefore, the work of the Electoral College since it offers the state representatives a chance to vote for a president who will understand their interest, hence, it protected minority interest.
Electoral College vs Popular Vote
The Electoral College’s main objective is to protect the voices of minority groups in small states as well as support federalism in the United States. The popular vote is mainly grounded on the peoples’ vote thus the reason it seriously debated.
How Electoral College Works
The electoral college consists of 538 members (electors), the majority from the House of Representatives who are determined by the state’s population as well as two senators from every state. According to the initial draft, electors were chosen by states, currently, they are either voted or nominated by the political parties. Also, every state has a distinct approach to choosing electors (Greer, 2012). States influence how electors participate in voting while protecting the votes of their citizens. In some states, they require that electoral voters consider the popular vote as it occurs within the state while other states provide their Electors with the freedom to vote according to their wish (Greer, 2012).
In some states, the Electoral College appears to employ a winner takes all policy, the presidential candidate who leads in the states will also win all that state’s electoral college. The electoral College often overrides the popularity vote, but it rarely occurs. Every presidential is required to attain at least 270 electoral votes to be declared a winner.
Consequences of Employing Electoral College
The main problem linked to the use of the Electoral College is that citizens are likely to feel unconsidered since it overrides the popular vote. It is also considered a reliable means of voting. Also, it is prone to misinterpretation and can easily be doctored leading to several recounts and rechecks on the technology. For instance, the year 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Al Gore won in the popular vote but still lost the election as poplar votes were overruled (The Election of 2000, n.d.). After Bush lost the popular votes, it was not understood how he won the Electoral College.
Why the Electoral College still in Use?
After the 2016 elections, several citizens started to challenge why the Electoral College still exists. The citizens started to feel that their opinion did not have value since the Electoral College invalidated the popular vote. Despite happening in a few cases, every individual wonders why still employs the Electoral College. One such reason is the inability of the republicans and democrats to formulate a new approach. Again, several citizens fear that the new approach may not help them or their voting system. Finally, the Electoral College offers the protection of minorities as well as involving the state government.