The Electoral College: Friend or Foe?

During the presidential election process, there are two major factors that determine the "victor". Of these two factors-the number of United States citizens who vote for a particular candidate, deemed the "popular vote", and what is known as the Electoral College-the validity of the latter is continually debated. Advocates for this election process, the Electoral Process, claim that the method is more effective due to the fact that the decision is put into the hands of electorates, or representatives of each state who are well-educated in the presidential election process, thus rendering the president-to-be better suited for the job. Contrary to the aforementioned belief, the opposition-consisting of individuals seeking to abolish this far-from-constitutionally grounded process which has, on more than one occasion, delivered the citizens of the United States an illegitimate leader- views the Electoral College as a hindrance to the progression of the ideology of democracy initially handed down to the citizens of the United States.

Those individuals in support of this process claim that it performs a function which the majority of the population is unfit to fulfill. This ideology sprouts from the misconception that the American people are incapable of such undertakings, and from the fact that the American government has lost all faith in the ability of its people to make a decision about what is best for them. Constitutionally speaking... if a decision is to be made, a vote is cast by the people: a system based on the fundamentals of democracy. Contemporarily speaking...the decision at hand is the election of our nation's leader, which by some unimagined turn of events has been placed in the hands of a select few, the so-called "politically elite", shaking the very foundations of our country's foremost political convictions. This policy was implemented in order to eliminate the probability of electing a president incompetent of performing his or her duties as well as preventing the continual election of presidents from larger, populous states. Consequently, it has sparked resentment in those individuals who hold strong to the elements of a completely democratic nation.

Naysayers of the validity of the Electoral College present several compelling arguments as to why the process should be abolished. In addition to relinquishing established rights, this process, this deprivation of democracy, has supplied the United States with illegitimate leaders on more than one occasion, notably so in the presidential election of 2000. According to the popular vote, the democratic candidate, Al Gore, actually won the election. Contrary to the will of the American people, the Electoral College deemed George W. Bush, the republican candidate, the winner. Consequently, many people took a stand in order to attempt to reform this election process. A steep rise in the amount of legislation calling for a change as well as an evident increase in the number of members of the House and Senate seeking to reform the Electoral process took place as well. "The National Popular Vote bill now has 829 sponsors in 50 states. In addition, 948 other state legislators have cast a recorded vote in favor of the legislation (either in committee or on the floor of their respective legislative chambers)."(nationalpopularvote.com)

Ultimately, the decision at hand is whether to abolish the Electoral College and place faith in the ability of the American people or to continue with the established process. Many individuals believe that converting to a process only involving the popular vote would have detrimental effects on the country if, in fact, an illegitimate president was appointed to the role whereas advocates for the process hold strong to the belief that the Electoral vote insures a "professional" standpoint providing the country with an educated decision. There are, however, pros and cons to each: the popular vote would allow for a more democratic election, inspiring a sense of importance in the American people, thus allowing them to become more active in their government but with the ever-present fear that "we" might make a mistake; The Electoral College allows the decision to be put into the hands of individuals "better suited" to make such a difficult decision, simultaneously causing the American people to lose faith in a government which has apparently lost faith in them.