Law Students

What of the Electoral College?

By Casebook Sherpa

The Electoral College is awesome. No, seriously. I like it, even if it’s a bit quaint. How do you feel about it?

I started thinking about it today as I entered Starbucks to claim my free coffee (which is NOT an incentive to vote), I overheard rather self-assured student at an obscenely wealthy local private school (he had his logoed sweater on and everything) discuss how his vote doesn’t matter because of the Electoral College since it’s not really a vote for the President.

He’s right, we don’t vote for the President directly. As my ballot this morning said, we choose a group of electors who then cast votes on our behalf. Perhaps it’s an anachronism. It’s certainly a potential barrier against popular majorities instituted, in part, because of a skepticism of the people.

The main argument against it of course is that the President remains the only office for which we vote that is not directly elected. Instead, the process we use allows a President to get a minority (or a plurality) of the popular vote and still win so long as he pieces together wins in the right states. To me, though, the Electoral College offers several important structural protections that I think make an individual’s vote more important. (If you’re looking for something to get your brain working this morning after a 6:00 a.m. trip to the polls, this debate is a good starting point even if the anti-EC guy won.)

I’ve heard a number of good arguments in support of the Electoral College. But there are three that strike me as the most central. Undercut these and the EC has little reason for continuing.

First, the Electoral College gives each vote more relative influence in that you are participating in a smaller pool of voters (your state) rather than with everyone in the country.

Second, it guarantees smaller states a semblance of influence over presidential elections. A compelling argument can be made that EC or not, only a handful of states or areas really matter in a given election. I contend simply that without an EC more populated areas become more important overall because of the efficiencies you gain by campaigning in more densely populated areas.

Third, it isolates voting irregularities. Today we talk about voting irregularities by state or precinct instead of nationwide because states are directly responsible for the elections and ensuring that their electors are properly chosen. In a national voter pool you can’t confine such irregularities and if a recount is called, it’s much easier to do it in individual states than nationwide.

Full post as published by Fight The Hypo on November 04, 2008 (boomark / email).