Nicholas Lester March 24, 2021

The original purpose of the College is irrelevant now because there is too much power within our “swing states” causing the College to ignore the will of the people. This system has few benefits and many flaws. The Electoral College is outdated, so it is not nearly as useful as it once was. 

The original purpose of the Electoral College was to keep uneducated and uninformed people from voting by putting the ultimate decision in the hands of electors. These electors were to have the proper information necessary to make the decision that seemed best.  

As explained on ProCon.org, “The Founders wanted to balance the will of the populace against the risk of “tyranny of the majority,” in which the voices of the masses can drown out minority interests” (“The Electoral College: Top 3 Pros and Cons”).   

However, the reasons for the creation of the Electoral College are no longer relevant. Modern technology and political parties allow voters to educate themselves and acquire the necessary information to make informed decisions– mass media, advanced public education, and the internet.  

Members of the Electoral College are now selected by the political parties. They are expected to vote along party lines regardless of their own opinions about the candidates.  

The College ignores the will of the people. Of the 328 million American citizens, 538 people decide our President.  

In the 2016 election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over one million votes. However, she lost due to lack of electoral votes.  

Trump, who benefitted from the Electoral College in the 2016 election, said, “I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. You know, you get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win.”  

Despite Trump winning solely because of electoral votes, he supports the popular vote.  

Elections can also be easily won by a handful of states. These states are called “swing states.” This term refers to any state that could be reasonably won by either presidential candidate by a swing in votes. These states are incredibly competitive and highly prioritized by the major political parties during elections.  

Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other.  

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton made more than 90% of their campaign stops in only 11 states, according to PBS NewsHour. Of those visits, nearly two-thirds took place in the four battlegrounds with the most electoral votes (“The Electoral College: Top 3 Pros and Cons”).   

Elections can be extremely unfair regarding the number of electoral votes in certain states. Along with states having too many votes, electors themselves cannot be trusted to vote for a certain candidate.  

The Electoral College system hinders progress towards a better, more direct democracy. If we genuinely want our opinions and decisions to mean something, we must abolish the Electoral College.