Throughout American history, there have been many arguments about the Electoral College. Some people believe that we should keep the system as it has been a tradition since the country’s founding. However, many people have started arguing for either reform or, in some cases, the complete dissolution of the Electoral College. While there is an argument to be made to keep the system, there are many reasons why it should end.
The Electoral College gives too much power to swing states
Every election cycle, it is clear that some states receive more attention from presidential candidates than others. Just in the last election, only 18 states held rallies for presidential campaigns, with seven states being home to over ten rallies and the other 11 holding just one or two. These seven states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, were talked about on all major news stations as the “critical swing states” of the 2024 election cycle. Pennsylvania alone held a total of 62 presidential rallies, while Nevada held the lowest number of swing state rallies, 15.
Certain counties are also more competitive, even within the swing states. These counties receive more attention than other states. They also receive more attention than other counties within their state, further isolating campaign efforts. This encourages the courting of a very specific audience while ignoring the needs of the rest of the country.
The Electoral College is rooted in a racist history
At the time of its creation, the system gave extra weight to Southern states by appointing based on the white population as well as three-fifths of the enslaved population. After the Civil War, these states began counting the former-enslaved population as “whole” people, further boosting their electoral power. However, Black voter suppression continued through Jim Crow laws. Even though these states were given more power due to their formerly enslaved population, the vote still didn’t represent the whole population, as Black people and women still weren’t allowed to vote.
With the passage of the 15th and 19th Amendments, the whole population of these states was supposedly represented in the Electoral College. Still, today, some state legislatures have passed laws making it harder for minority groups to vote, and the Electoral College upholds its racist history.
The Electoral College gives more representation to smaller states
The Electoral College gives more weight to the people in smaller states than people in more populous states. According to Chris DeRosa, chair of the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University, “More people live in D.C. than in Wyoming, the least populous state in the union, but they both get three electoral votes.” This means that the people of Wyoming have a greater representation in the American political system than people in D.C., not to mention the fact that D.C. doesn’t have any representation in Congress.
California, for instance, is the most populous state in the nation, with a population of 39.4 million. In the 2024 election, California had 54 electoral votes. If you divide the number of people living in California by the number of electoral votes in the state, you will find that one vote represents the will of 729,630 people. Now, looking at Wyoming, a state with 587,618 people and three electoral votes, you will find that one electoral vote represents 195,873 people. This means that, overall, the people of Wyoming have a greater voice in who becomes president than the people of California, simply because of the Electoral College.
The Electoral College can make people feel like their vote doesn’t matter
As mentioned, the Electoral College creates an environment where the votes in a few “key” districts in a small handful of states can be the difference in who becomes president. This incentivises politicians to pander to certain issues that matter more to the people within those districts while ignoring the country’s needs as a whole.
This can lead to widespread voter apathy, making people feel as though it doesn’t matter whether they vote or not, especially in the states considered “safe” for one party or another; a Republican in California may feel as though their vote doesn’t matter as the state has a largely liberal population, and similarly a Democrat in Oklahoma could feel disincentivised to vote as the state has a long history of voting for Republican candidates.
According to SmartAsset, “U.S. voter participation rates are already quite low. Some argue that eliminating the electoral college would be an easy way to raise them and boost Americans’ engagement in the political process.” Eliminating the Electoral College would truly create an environment where every vote counts, as the country would shift to the popular vote to decide the winning candidate.
Over the past few years, more and more people have come to feel that the Electoral College should be abolished. According to Briannica, “at least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College.” This sentiment is shared across party lines, as SmartAsset says that 80% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans feel as though the Electoral College should be abolished. Hopefully, as the outrage towards this dated system increases, Congress will wake up, pass an amendment abolishing the Electoral College, and finally shift the country to a future where we function as a true democracy.
