Our Electoral College: 5 Myths about Our Electoral College

“Each state shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.”

Constitution of the United States

Article II, Section 1

So…what exactly is the Electoral College?

• Is it an actual school?
• Do people study politics there?

Fun Fact: The Electoral College is not a school but rather the process that elects the president of the United States.

Here is a quick rundown of our Electoral College and its functions:

• There are 538 total electors.
• The District of Columbia has 3 electors.
• A total of 270 electoral votes is needed to win the presidential election.
• The electoral votes are officially counted in a joint session of Congress.
• Each state has a certain number of electors.
• These electors then vote for president.
• Each state gets an elector for each member of Congress from that state.
• Each state has its own rules on how electors are chosen.
• Usually, the political party of the presidential candidate who won the state chooses the electors.
• The only people prevented from being electors are certain political leaders like Senators and Representatives.
• In most states all the electors are awarded to one president.
• Even if one candidate won by a single popular vote, they would get all the electoral votes.
• One popular vote in California could make the difference of 55 electoral votes.
• Maine and Nebraska split up the electors between the candidates.

Arguments for and Against abolishing the Electoral College:

Against Abolishing-

• The current process protects state’s rights. The United States is a republic of states and each state should be able to apportion its electorates as it sees fit.
• The Electoral College keeps high population states and regions from deciding the presidency. Without the Electoral College, a huge popular margin in one state (like California or Texas) could decide the entire election.

For Abolishing-

• It is possible that the winner may not receive the most popular votes. This has happened four times.
• Some votes count more than others. In 2012 there were less than 200,000 people per electoral vote in Wyoming, but more than 700,000 people per electoral vote in Texas.
• It causes the elections to focus on swing states such as Florida and Ohio.

There are so many myths that surround the Electoral College so over the course of this series I would like to try and help clear up those myths and focus on the facts.

I want you to remember that facts don’t have feelings. So, regardless of how you feel, it doesn’t really matter. Facts are facts. My kids sometimes do not like hearing facts as well and we have many running around today stomping feet and pounding their fists, screaming their heads off because they cannot get their way.

So here are 5 myths and 5 facts to debunk these myths. We will also be covering these topics more in depth throughout this series.

MYTH #1: The Electoral College was an accident, an unprincipled compromise made by the Constitution’s Framers.

FACT: The Electoral College was a principled solution to a problem confronting the Framers of our Constitution. Our Founders crafted a system that not just three-quarters of the states were, but every state was, willing to accept and that reinforced two very key principles: the separation of powers and federalism. (We will discuss these two principles in detail another blog)

MYTH #2: The Electoral College violates the democratic principles of the founders.

FACT: Our Founders sought to make America a republic, reflecting the consent of the governed through representative government and the rule of law.

MYTH #3: The Electoral College is Racist.

FACT: The Electoral College aims neither to advantage nor disadvantage any specific race.

MYTH #4: The Electoral College always favors conservatives.

FACT: The Electoral College also helped presidents Bill Clinton, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy validate their elections.

MYTH #5: The Electoral College unfairly favors less populous states over more populous states.

FACT: High population states enjoy a big advantage in the House of Representatives and still maintain most of the power in presidential elections. Along with the Senate, the Electoral College provides a counterbalance, protecting lower population states such as Alaska, Delaware, Wyoming, Hawaii, Mississippi, Vermont, West Virginia, and New Mexico, from political irrelevancy compared to major population centers like New York City and Los Angeles.

References:

Nelson, Ken. “US Government for Kids: Electoral College.” Ducksters, Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI), www.ducksters.com/history/us_government/electoral_college.php. Accessed 5 August 2020.

The Electoral College: Critical to our Republic. Josiah Peterson. 2017 The Kings College Press.

I strongly recommend reading and studying Josiah Peterson’s book. It’s 84 pages and it’s where I will be taking a lot of my information from. I’m just a simple minded man who thanks the Lord for smart people. I just want to make this information available to those around me. This book has challenged me to look further into our system known as The Electoral College and I challenge you to look into it for yourself.