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Dec 9, 2021 · Learn the arguments for and against the Electoral College, a system that elects the US president based on state votes rather than popular votes. Find out how the Electoral College works, its history, and its controversies.
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To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether should use the Electoral College in presidential elections, go to ProCon.org.
The debate over the continued use of the Electoral College resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump lost the general election to Hillary Clinton by over 2.8 million votes and won the Electoral College by 74 votes. The official general election results indicate that Trump received 304 Electoral College votes and 46.09% of the popular vote (62,984,825 votes), and Hillary Clinton received 227 Electoral College votes and 48.18% of the popular vote (65,853,516 votes).
Prior to the 2016 election, there were four times in US history when a candidate won the presidency despite losing the popular vote: 1824 (John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland), and 2000 (George W. Bush over Al Gore).
The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution, which also established the executive branch of the US government, and was revised by the Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804), the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July 1868), and the Twenty-Third Amendment (ratified Mar. 29, 1961). Because the procedure for electing the president is part of the Constitution, a Constitutional Amendment (which requires two-thirds approval in both houses of Congress plus approval by 38 states) would be required to abolish the Electoral College.
The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the president via a vote in Congress only or via a popular vote only. The Electoral College comprises 538 electors; each state is allowed one elector for each Representative and Senator (DC is allowed 3 electors as established by the Twenty-Third Amendment).
In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. Most states use the “winner-take-all” method, in which all electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the popular vote in that state. In Nebraska and Maine, the candidate that wins the state’s overall popular vote receives two electors, and one elector from each congressional district is apportioned to the popular vote winner in that district. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes.
•The Founding Fathers enshrined the Electoral College in the US Constitution because they thought it was the best method to choose the president.
•The Electoral College ensures that all parts of the country are involved in selecting the President of the United States.
•The reasons the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College are no longer relevant.
•The Electoral College gives too much power to "swing states" and allows the presidential election to be decided by a handful of states.
•The Electoral College ignores the will of the people.
This article was published on Jan. 21, 2021, at Britannica’s ProCon.org, a nonpartisan issue-information source.
Learn the arguments for and against the Electoral College, a system of electing the US president that was established by the Constitution and has been modified by several amendments. Find out how the Electoral College works, its history, and its controversies in recent elections.
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Oct 2, 2020 · Learn the advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College system, how it works, and why it is controversial. Explore the alternatives to the Electoral College, such as the National Popular Vote plan.
- Robert Longley
Apr 2, 2023 · The electoral college has a number of pros and cons, depending on where you fall on the political spectrum. While it prevents an easy-to-understand election that would draw from a popular vote, it was originally enacted to give every state its fair say in who gets elected to the highest office in the country.
Aug 29, 2017 · Here Are the Disadvantages of the Electoral College. 1. It creates the possibility of a minority president being elected. The US has elected two minority presidents in the last 20 years because of the Electoral College. In 1992, President Bill Clinton was elected with less than 50% of the total popular vote as well.
Jul 16, 2023 · The Electoral College system differs from a majority vote system, where the candidate with the most individual votes nationwide wins the presidency. Proponents of the College argue that it promotes political representation and prevents large states from dominating elections, while opponents claim it undermines the principle of one person, one vote.
Jan 5, 2021 · On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. President Trump had earned 232 electoral ...
