The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

The US’s Electoral College has always been a controversial topic. When it was written into the Constitution, it was meant as a compromise between the small and large states, and between Congress and the states (M. West). Since then, the Electoral College system has been how the United States elected its presidents. However, it continues to face criticism and many want the system to change, favoring systems such as a national popular vote instead (National Conference of State Legislatures). Despite how the US’s Electoral College effectively balances power between the states and the federal government, it is still a deeply flawed voting system due to it being based on unrealistic expectations and outdated ideals that should be changed to reflect

In the first place, the argument against the national popular vote does not apply today. The idea of the popular vote was rejected because the general public was seen as uneducated and was not trusted to make an informed decision (M. West). However, as opposed to when the Constitution was made, the vast majority of the public today is much more educated because of the widespread availability of public education and the internet. Additionally, the concept of electors is not used to its original purpose. In the elections, “more than 99 percent of electors” voted according to their state’s popular vote, and none affected the final result (“About the Electors”). But, the electors were originally implemented because they were meant to vote independently as opposed to having the general population or Congress decide the presidency, rather than in today where the electoral system is more used as a distribution of votes between states (M. West). Besides, with the growing popularity of the national popular vote, the electoral college system may even eventually become irrelevant if enough states favor it. For instance, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement between states in which each state agrees to cast its electoral votes toward the candidate winning the national popular vote (Congressional Research Services). If states totaling 270 votes join the compact, it will deem the Electoral College ineffective in favor of the national popular vote, and “[a]s of December 2022, 15 states and Washington, D.C., had adopted legislation to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact”, representing 195 Electoral College votes