By Cendri Johnson
Many of us have been hearing about how awful the Electoral College is because it allowed Trump to win the election. And many are quick to jump on that bandwagon.
But how well do you actually understand the system that
By Cendri Johnson
Many of us have been hearing about how awful the Electoral College is because it allowed Trump to win the election. And many are quick to jump on that bandwagon.
But how well do you actually understand the system that is the Electoral College? Here is breakdown of this key factor of the election system.
The Common Misconceptions
Myth: The electoral college is comprised of votes that automatically go to whichever candidate wins each state during the general election.
Fact: The Electoral College is actually a group of people called “electors,” many of whom are able to choose which candidate they vote for.
Myth: The electors always have to adhere to the wishes of the people, or the electors are always completely autonomous to the wishes of the people.
Fact: In 21 states, electors can vote for whoever they want to, regardless of the people's choice, even though the vast majority of the time the electors vote with their party. In 29 states and the District of Columbia, however, electors are required to cast their ballots in accordance with the popular vote. These electors can be bound by state law or pledges to their political parties.
Myth: We, the people, elect the Electoral College.
Fact: When we vote on election day we are able to choose which panel of electors (Democrat or Republican) represents us in the Electoral College, but the actual makeup of people on these panels is exclusively determined by the political parties of each state. We have no control over who our electors actually are.
Myth: The Electoral College has already voted.
Fact: This year, the Electoral College will vote on Dec. 19, 2016.
Myth: Electoral votes are evenly distributed between each state in the U.S. based on population.
Fact: The way it works out is that the population-to-electoral vote ratio is greater in some states than in others because the electoral votes are not allocated only based on population, but rather the combined number of senators and representatives for each state.
Myth: All states operate on the winner-take-all system for electoral votes.
Fact: Two states, Maine and Nebraska, actually have a proportional system where some electors can be Democratic while others can be Republican. In these states, the number of electors chosen from each party is dependent on how many popular votes each party receives and together they will represent their state in the Electoral College.
Myth: The electors can be anyone.
Fact: There aren’t specific criteria for being an elector, but these people are usually loyal party members with many years of experience, and good rap sheets. Additionally, according to Article Two of the U.S. Constitution, electors cannot be a member of Congress or hold any high-ranking office in the U.S. government of “trust or profit.”
The Electoral College was originally advocated for and established by the Founding Fathers, particularly Alexander Hamilton. This system was meant to protect smaller states' voices from being completely drowned out by those of the larger states. If presidential elections were to be run on a one-person, one-vote basis, then the few states with the largest populations could have complete control over the election outcome.
They then took it a step further by establishing real people as electors rather than just votes in order to create a safeguard against the naivete and gullibility of the common people. The Foundi