Why stick with Electoral College?
Election clerks assist voters at the Syracuse Northwest branch of the Davis County Library during Utah's March 3 primary election.
Voting in Utah's March 3 primary election was held at the Syracuse Northwest branch of the Davis County Library.
A voter in Utah's March 3 primary election drops her ballot in the box at the Syracuse Northwest branch of the Davis County Library.
Voting in Utah's March 3 primary election was held at the Syracuse Northwest branch of the Davis County Library.
Election clerks assist voters at the Syracuse Northwest branch of the Davis County Library during Utah's March 3 primary election.
Voters cast their ballots at the Syracuse Northwest branch of the Davis County Library during Utah's March 3 primary election.
A voter casts her ballot at the Syracuse Northwest branch of the Davis County Library during Utah's March 3 primary election.
What do Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes and John Quincy Adams all have in common?
While each was president of the United States, there is a more exclusive connection these men share. Not a single one of them won the popular vote when they were elected president.
For many, the results of the 2016 United States presidential election were somewhat unclear. With popular vote counts giving Hillary Clinton a 2.87 million vote lead and yet giving Donald Trump the White House, many Americans could only scratch their heads when the results came out.
Elections maps showing the results are a confusing mess of blue and red states, and the only explanation for the polls wildly inaccurate predictions was the Electoral College, where Trump earned 304 votes and Clinton 227.
Now, with 2020’s presidential election hot on our heels, understanding the Electoral College will save some confusion.
• Divergent results
The Constitution outlines the process in Article 2 Section 1. Each state gets as many electors as they do national legislators or, in other words, the number of representatives plus two for their senators. Utah, for example, has 6 electoral votes.
The Constitution gives states the job of choosing who their electors are, only requiring that they aren’t paid government officials or holding an “office of trust.”
You’ve probably heard people say things like, “I’m going to cast my ballot for Candidate A,” but in reality, their vote doesn’t go directly to Candidate A. On Election Day, we vote to determine who each of these electors will be for our state.
These electors, totaling 538 nationally, meet together to make the actual decision. In reality, these electors are pledged to vote with the popular vote of their state. That’s because, in all states but Nebraska and Maine, they follow the winner-take-all method. Whoever gets the popular vote in the state receives all of the state’s electors.
The winner-takes-all approach is why someone can win the popular vote but lose with electoral votes. Imagine if someone narrowly won enough states to get the electoral votes needed to win, and lost the other states with massive margins. That’s why scenarios like 2016 are a possibility with the Electoral College.
Needless to say, when a candidate wins the popular vote but loses the election — in what’s called a divergent election — many Americans are frustrated. Many attack the Electoral College; in fact, at least 700 attempts to amend it have been made.
The proponents of this movement focus on the idea of pure democracy. They ask, “Why should my vote count any differently than anybody else’s?”
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, or NPVIC, has gained momentum across the country. The idea behind the NPVIC is that once the states that agree to it have enough electoral votes to decide an election, the pact begins. They all agree to give all of their electoral votes to the candidate that receives the popular vote.
Essentially, instead of amending the Constitution, these states wish to create a system where the popular vote determines the president.
• Making choices
While there are some possible legal challenges to the NPVIC, those who believe in the Electoral College have a passionate response.
Do we trust the 51 percent to rule the 49 percent? Are we a democracy? Or a republic? Do we want two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner? Doesn’t the system also encourage candidates to appeal to a broader audience by ideals rather than by numbers?
Essentially we have to ask if we would rather the president appeal to the most groups of people, or most people. Appealing to the most groups of people makes more sense when we think of it as industries or groups with clashing interests. The majority doesn’t think about the minority of farmers who feed them all. It’s important that the farmers are represented well when policies are made.
Our founders saw that these groups were typically divided geographically as well as ideologically. The theory is that the president that appeals to the most groups will be the best for the country. Then if we give the choice to the groups, the larger groups won’t be able to throw other groups under the bus for their personal gain.
Come voting this year, there’s no doubt that the Electoral College will still be around. Love it or hate it, the college is a crucial part of the United States’ presidential elections.
Now that you’re “in the know,” you may still scratch your head and wonder how a candidate ended up where they are, but not because the Electoral College system is confusing.
Dallin Christensen is a junior at Leadership Academy of Utah. Email him dallinc03@gmail.com.