What is the electoral College?
The cast of Hamilton: An American Musical performs at the White House on Mar. 4, 2016. Hamilton is a musical written by and originally starring Lin Manuel Miranda (left) as the title role about Alexander Hamilton’s life and the part he had in the founding of the United States. Pictured, from left: Miranda, Phillipa Soo (Elizabeth Schuyler), Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), and Christopher Jackson (George Washington).
Image labeled for reuse and obtained from whitehouse.gov
You may be asking: why is Hamilton, one of the most popular musicals of the modern era, relevant to the Electoral College?
Well, the musical itself isn't, but its titular character, Alexander Hamilton, is. In Federalist Paper 68, which Hamilton authored, he has this to say about the election of the President:
“The process of election [through an Electoral College] affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications…It will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union...to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States.”
What Hamilton is saying is that the process of election needs to be such that only the best qualified people can be elected President. And he was not the only one who thought this way. The Electoral College is the longest and most detailed section of the Constitution, so it was clearly debated for a long while by the Founding Fathers before becoming a part of the law of the land.
Well, the musical itself isn't, but its titular character, Alexander Hamilton, is. In Federalist Paper 68, which Hamilton authored, he has this to say about the election of the President:
“The process of election [through an Electoral College] affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications…It will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union...to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States.”
What Hamilton is saying is that the process of election needs to be such that only the best qualified people can be elected President. And he was not the only one who thought this way. The Electoral College is the longest and most detailed section of the Constitution, so it was clearly debated for a long while by the Founding Fathers before becoming a part of the law of the land.
What exactly is the Electoral College and how does it work?
As stated above, the Electoral College was a system created by the Founding Fathers to elect the President. Many of them, including Hamilton, believed that the average citizen was not intelligent enough to elect a truly qualified individual, so they wanted a system where only select people directly elected the President. Thus, the concept of electors and the Electoral College came into play.
As stated above, the Electoral College was a system created by the Founding Fathers to elect the President. Many of them, including Hamilton, believed that the average citizen was not intelligent enough to elect a truly qualified individual, so they wanted a system where only select people directly elected the President. Thus, the concept of electors and the Electoral College came into play.
Currently, there are 538 electors who have one vote each. These are allocated to each state based on the number of Representatives they have in Congress. For example: in Maryland, where I am from, we have 8 politicians who represent us in the House of Representatives and 2 Senators. Therefore, we have 10 electoral votes. This is how it is allocated for every state in the country, bringing the total to 535 votes.
But wait, there’s more! Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital, gets the last three electoral votes, bringing us to 538 votes. |
In order for a candidate to win the Electoral College, they need a majority of the votes. If you’ve already done the math you know this: the magic number is 270 electoral votes. Electors are awarded based on a winner-takes-all system. If a candidate wins a state’s popular vote, they will receive all of the electoral votes from the state.
There are two states that do not award their votes this way: Maine and Nebraska. In these states, votes are awarded based on which candidate won the popular vote in individual congressional districts. To be clear, electoral votes are allocated according to popular vote on a smaller scale. However, there are two votes in both states that are awarded the normal way (that is, the winner-takes-all system).
There are two states that do not award their votes this way: Maine and Nebraska. In these states, votes are awarded based on which candidate won the popular vote in individual congressional districts. To be clear, electoral votes are allocated according to popular vote on a smaller scale. However, there are two votes in both states that are awarded the normal way (that is, the winner-takes-all system).
Why are we talking about this?
You may have noticed that the Electoral College has been in the news a lot, especially after President Donald Trump’s surprising win in the 2016 election. He won the Electoral College, but Secretary Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost 3 million votes. This isn’t an isolated incident. The same thing happened in the Election of 2000. |
If you’re any younger than me (at the time of this writing I am 20) you probably don’t remember this election, but here’s a recap: George W. Bush, our 43rd President of the United States, won the Electoral College after a recount in Florida. His opponent, Al Gore, won the popular vote by 500,000 votes.
These two instances are why the Electoral College is so hotly debated now. Twice in the last two decades the candidate that won the popular vote did not win the Electoral College and therefore did not win the Presidency. This is causing a whole lot of outrage and debate on this issue.
Throughout the rest of this website, three perspectives will be explored:
If you’re still a bit confused as to how the Electoral College works, you can read this New York Times article for more information.
These two instances are why the Electoral College is so hotly debated now. Twice in the last two decades the candidate that won the popular vote did not win the Electoral College and therefore did not win the Presidency. This is causing a whole lot of outrage and debate on this issue.
Throughout the rest of this website, three perspectives will be explored:
- The Electoral College is an outdated system that should be abolished
- The Electoral College just needs to be revised, not outright abolished
- The Electoral College is fine the way it is
If you’re still a bit confused as to how the Electoral College works, you can read this New York Times article for more information.