Why does the United States still continue to use the Electoral College when electing a president?

Question

The majority vote of the average American citizen should determine who becomes our President, not the Electoral College. In this age of technological innovation, congress should put more funds into developing reliable technology that will ensure a flawless voting process and, in turn, eliminate the need for the Electoral College.

Answer 1

It's actually not true that the reason is to give power to smaller states, and if you think about it, it doesn't really do that either. The swing states are rarely the smaller ones, rather Florida and Ohio, not exactly tiny ones, are the places who get the attention and the pork. Had NH not been first to vote, politicians may well have skipped campaigning it as they do with Wyoming, Nebraska etc. In fact, without the electoral college states like TX, NY, CA, & FL would not be giant voting blocks that present victory, but rather politicians would have to look for the votes where they get them, and they might have some incentive to keep smaller states in mind for that reason.
The original reasons were ones of efficiency for that time, and of inherent fear of direct rule by the crowds. Note that at the time the Senate was an aristocratic body, not elected by the people, meant to counter the House, to achieve a cooling effect etc. it is highly unpopular, and remains mostly because a change would have to come in the form of an amendment to the constitution, over which a great majority would have to agree. There actually could be a simple fix through changing "candidate" to candidates", thereby leaving the college mechanism alone but changing the function to a plurality result. Something along these lines will eventually happen.

Answer 2

Wyoming's still screwed, as is North Dakota. Sure, they get more electoral votes than they would otherwise, but it... still isn't anywhere near as many as California. The Electoral College was brilliant-ish when it was designed, but the laws of all the states with enough votes to matter (all but two or so, total) require the electors to vote with the majority in the state. So the electoral college is thus made pointless. Of course, seeing as the idea of the electoral college was based upon elitism, it really isn't a very good spectre of our past.

There *isn't* a need for an electoral college anymore, and really, there never was, if you like the idea that the simplest voting man still has enough of a mind to pick the right man for a job.

Answer 3

Why not? I understand your thinking that the majority vote should determine the president, and in a perfect world, that would be fine. But we don't live in a perfect world, and it will be a while before anyone does.

The electoral college, like so much else the founding fathers devised, was a brilliant part of the system of checks and balances that has (mostly) kept madmen from gaining too much power in our government. The two-house system, the three-branch system, etc., were brilliant moves, as was the Constitution and how it was written.

Btw, a very compelling argument can be made that Gore didn't get more votes that Bush without cheating and without a whole lot of cheating on the part of his partners-in-crime (those in the tv networks, etc. - proclaiming Gore the winner in Florida with an hour to go before the polls in the panhandle were closed, etc.), who did their best to help him cheat Bush out of a victory. Thanks in part to the electoral system, it didn't work.

Answer 4

It will not change because it requires a change to the Constitution. You'll need two-thirds of the House and Senate and the President's signature. Good luck with that; it's a monumental effort. Once upon a time, Virginia was the biggest state. Other states did not want Virginia to win all the votes by sheer numbers of voters, so the electoral college redistributed power to the other states. Pretty ridiculous nowadays!

Answer 5

The electoral college is a way to keep politicians from bribing voters. It keeps them from making promises to certain areas in the country as a means to garner votes. It also gives smaller places an equal voice. If the popular vote was all that mattered, poor Rhode Island would never be heard and Alaska might as well forget about voting.

Answer 6

We use the electoral college to make sure people's votes still count. If we went on the NATIONAL popular vote, states would lose their individuality. We would vote based on what Chicago, LA, NY, Boston, and San Francisco think. Your vote wouldn't really matter.
However the electoral college is flawed, and needs to be fixed as seen in 2000, but making states vote based on what the rest of the nation thinks would ruin the UNITED STATES part of America. If a state voted against what the nation thought, it wouldn't matter, and all the people in that state's votes wouldn't matter...they would just be swept aside because some other states have more people. Wyoming would be screwed.

Answer 7

Easy... this country is still, somewhat, a republic. In a republic, the majority does not have the final authority on laws or who becomes the president. A lot of politicians, including Bush claim that we are a democracy, but this is not true.

A "republic” form of government safeguarded our nation from a feelings-driven, tyrannical majority that hastily passes laws. James Madison realized democracy is diametrically opposed to the letter and spirit of the Constitution. John Adams was equally vocal about democracy graphically saying, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”

The job of elected officials, legislators, and appointed judges is to protect the rights outlined in the Constitution, not grant rights based on opinion polls, blogs, and festooned political cheerleaders on broadcast television and radio. A republic requires altruistic service and care from government leaders. It is time to put leaders in office that will not use their power to further erode the republic entrusted to us by the Founding Fathers.

Answer 8

Poeple who govern us still have no faith in our ability to choose a leader. The electoral college is one of the most misunderstood parts of government though. Say you live in D.C. which has 1 electoral vote. The way it works is the party's all vote for 1 representative to vote for them. When, say the democratic ticket wins (as it will in D.C.) only the democratic representative will cast his/her vote. The people chosen to represent, thought, are known to be very party faithfull and rarely vote other that by way of delegate representation.

Answer 9

There is something wrong with this country when Gore got more votes than Bush but Bush became President. After that election I will never vote again. Why? Because your vote doesn't really count.

Answer 10

Wise up everyone !! If they abolish the Electoral College, New York & California would select every president from now on.

DO YOU REALLY WANT THAT?