No matter where you go right now, you see solicitations asking you to vote. Voting is a privilege that many of us take for granted. Young people all over the country are registering for the first time, hoping that their voices will be heard. But this is America; we do not have a direct democracy. Here, we have something called an Electoral College with 538 members chosen to represent the votes of our population of 331 million people. Personally, I feel that we should ban the Electoral College as it is no longer a necessary part of our government for a number of reasons.
In order to have an opinion on the Electoral College, you have to understand how it works. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “the Electoral College is a unique method for indirectly electing the president of the United States.” As stated before, the Electoral College has a total of 538 members; 29 of which represent New York State. The members are chosen based on the number of representatives in the state with additional chairs for the senators. In our case, we have 27 representatives and two senators, thus the 29 Electoral College members. The members of the Electoral College then vote separately for the president and vice president. The votes from the individuals are taken and used to determine who the next president will be, regardless of what the occupants of the state do.
This brings me to my first point. The Electoral College was created because the creators of our government, of our free country, did not trust the people to have that much influence in the actual government process. It was feared that the people would harm the community welfare if there wasn’t an extra layer of protection. This may have been true in the early years of the United States, but now it feels like an attack on our freedom, especially when our basic moral principles are not being expressed.
It is important that the will of the people be communicated, especially with the vastly diverse collection of belief systems in America today. People like to see themselves represented in the government, but with this extra layer, it is harder to feel adequately represented, causing people to feel as if they have to protest to get their voices heard.
Secondly, I feel that the Electoral College takes away our diplomatic freedoms and representation. For example, under the Electoral College, if a person wins the vote of the people, it does not mean they have won the election. This happened most recently in the 2016 presidential election where Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, while Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote, making him president. It was not the will of the country that was reflected in this vote; it was the will of 538 individuals being directly reflected.
The representatives that are in the Electoral College may feel that they have the best interest of the people in mind, but that may just be the will of the majority. In respect to representation, the majority may have won the local election, causing the minority ideas to fall through the cracks. This again is a representation issue for Americans.
Generally, I feel that the Electoral College puts a space between the American people and the government. That gap allows a lot of issues that are important to the people to be neglected. By eliminating the Electoral College, it would allow the people to express things that are important to them.
So, when it comes to this major election, take a moment and think about what your vote really means. It is our privilege, although not directly reflected, to make our voices heard. You can change the system. Stay safe and vote.