In the United States, we don’t vote to choose our president. We vote for electors to choose our president.
The Electoral College is the institution which elects the president. It is made up of 538 party-appointed electors from the 50 states plus Washington D.C. There is one elector for each congressperson from that state plus two electors to represent the state’s senators, so each state has a minimum of three electoral votes. All of the electoral votes in most states are given to the candidate who won the state’s popular vote, or vote by the people. A majority of 270 electoral votes is needed to win.
The number of electors adjusts every 10 years with the Census, which determines population, among other factors. In the 2020 election, Fla. will have 29 electors, as will N.Y., tying the states for third-most electors behind Calif., with 55, and Texas, with 38.
Among 125 democracies, the U.S. is the only system in which voters elect a body of electors whose sole function is to choose the president. It is also only one of seven democracies that indirectly elect a leader who acts as both head of state and head of government (the others are Botswana, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, South Africa, the Marshall Islands and Suriname, but the leaders are chosen by the countries’ legislatures). In other countries without direct democracy, legislatures choose the head of government and/or state, such as Germany, whose president is chosen by 630 members of their legislature and 630 representatives chosen by state parliaments.
Proponents of the Electoral College say that without it, candidates would only focus on urban, coastal areas that are dense in population and ignore rural, sparsely populated states. However, in this system, candidates focus on battleground or “swing” states almost exclusively. Over the years, states that tend to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats (such as Calif., Vt.or N.Y.) or Republicans (such as Texas, Ala. and S.C.) are largely ignored by candidates as they are a sure win or lose. In 2016, more than two-thirds of all campaign events took place in just six swing states (Fla., Ohio, Va., N.C., Penn. and Mich.).
Others say that smaller states will have a disproportionate representation. This is true, but not in the way the argument is framed. Wyo. has a population of 577,000 people and three electoral votes, while Calif. has a population of more than 39 million and has 55 electoral votes. This actually leaves Wyo. voters with more representation than Calif. voters. In Wyo., an elector represents 192,000 people, while in Calif., an elector represents 709,000 people.
The Founders believed in indirect democracy and thought that the general population should not choose the president. In fact, the Senate was elected by state legislatures and not popularly until 1913. Then why not abandon the Electoral College and switch to a popular vote across the board?
The winner-takes-all system in place currently gives the candidate that wins the popular vote in a state all of the electoral votes, save Maine and Neb., which allot their electoral votes proportionally. Some states and activists are taking this into their own hands. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement among states to award all of their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote and would only go into effect when it would guarantee that outcome. It would be used in a time such as the 2000 or 2016 elections when the candidate who lost the popular vote won the electoral college and became president.
As of February 2020, 15 states plus the District of Columbia have adopted this legislation and together account for 196 electoral votes, which is 36% of the Electoral College.
The Electoral College creates an inherent disadvantage and acts against the will of the people. A national popular vote would give each person’s vote equal meaning and let the people choose their president.
Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer are in favor of abolishing the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote. Even though your vote doesn’t directly elect the president, it still counts and could someday count equally. Visit vote.org to register to vote today.