If there is one thing you can be certain of, it is that theElectoral College will be blamed any time a voter does not like theoutcome of the vote. Republicans and Democrats will scream bloodymurder when the Electoral College fails to work in their favor.Either way, there must be reasons for the construct the foundersset up for presidential voting.
One of the clearest reasons for the Electoral College is toincrease the fairness of elections. Without the Electoral College,the voters in small states would be entirely disenfranchised. Therewould be nothing to gain from getting votes in small states becausethe will of the country would ride on only nine states (California,Ohio, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvaniaand Michigan) who have just over 50 percent of the nationspopulation. In fact, by population alone, New York City would havemore electoral votes than Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota,Vermont and Wyoming combined.
The distribution of electoral votes versus the distribution ofpopulation is not equal. Small states are guaranteed at least threeelectoral votes. Despite the fact that Montana has one person forevery 38 people in California, they have one electoral vote (3total) for every 18 electoral votes in California (55 total). Thismeans that the nine largest states by population decide only 243electoral votes of the 270 that are needed to win. Needless to say,smaller states and their citizens cannot be ignored. Neithercandidate, Republican or Democrat, can afford to ignore the smallerstates because some combination of those states will be necessaryto reach the 270 vote plateau that must be reached for thecandidate to win.
Without the Electoral College, minorities would also be ignored.There would be no reason for candidates to try to get the vote ofAfrican Americans or farmers. African Americans only make up 13percent of the population, while farmers make up a smaller 4percent, and could only contribute 13 percent of the total vote.However, in states like Alabama, African Americans make up 25percent of its 9 electoral votes, 27 percent of Alabama's 13electoral votes and 31 percent of Louisiana's 9 electoral votes.While the African American vote might not be as important if it isonly 13 percent of the voting population, its vote is moreimportant when it has a more statistically significant sway over 31electoral votes that would clearly push the election one way oranother. Farmers also make up a statistically significant portionof certain state populations and have greater representationthrough the Electoral College system.
If you think that we have an uninformed populous with theElectoral College system, you can be sure it would be worse withoutit. Voters in areas of the country that are not highly populatedwill have no advocate, will have no voice and will have nocandidate that will actively address their concerns. As it is now,the Electoral College forces presidential candidates to campaignthe most in areas where people are undecided, in those areas wherepopulation may well be small but the electoral votes can make allof the difference in the results of the election. Every Americancounts, and people from every walk of life have their concernsheard and addressed.
Write to Brett at
bamock@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
