The Electoral College

What is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It's a system created by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution as a compromise between electing the president by popular vote and electing the president by Congress.

Each state has a certain number of electors, which is roughly in line with the size of its population. The number of electors for each state is determined by adding the number of Senators (2) and the number of Representatives (based on population).

When you vote for president, you're actually voting for a slate of electors from your state. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes.

How does the Electoral College process work?

After you cast your ballot for president, your vote goes to a statewide tally. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes.

Once all the votes are tallied, the electors from each state meet to cast their votes for president. The candidate who wins the majority of electoral votes (at least 270) wins the presidency.

If no candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the president from among the top three electoral college finishers.

Why do we have the Electoral College?

The Electoral College was created as a compromise between electing the president by popular vote and electing the president by Congress.

The Founding Fathers were concerned that a popular vote would lead to the election of a president who was not qualified or who did not represent the interests of all Americans.

The Electoral College helps to ensure that the president is elected by a majority of the states, not just by a majority of the population.

Is the Electoral College fair?

The Electoral College has been criticized as being unfair because it gives more power to smaller states. This is because each state has a certain number of electors, regardless of its population.

For example, Wyoming has three electoral votes, even though it has a population of only about 578,000 people. California, on the other hand, has 55 electoral votes, even though it has a population of over 39 million people.

This means that a candidate can win the presidency without winning the popular vote. This has happened five times in American history, most recently in 2016 when Donald Trump won the presidency even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.

Should the Electoral College be abolished?

There is a debate over whether or not the Electoral College should be abolished. Some people argue that it is unfair and undemocratic.

Others argue that the Electoral College helps to ensure that the president is elected by a majority of the states, not just by a majority of the population.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to abolish the Electoral College is up to the American people. They can amend the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College if they so choose.