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Elexis Gahn

Mrs. Cramer

College Comp

August 11, 2022

The presidential election is defined by the votes of the electoral college and not the

popular vote. (Voting Rights) The electoral college is not the best representation of each states

votes as it does not represent every voting American. The party on the electoral college can

fluctuate between republican and democratic which can leave it unequal between the two. There

have been many years of debate over the electoral college vote and the popular vote during

election years. The amendment that supports the system has even been amended twice since

input but has always been brought back. Throughout the country there have been multiple

controversies surrounding the electoral vote and the popular vote, as both sides believe there are

pros and cons to each system of elections. Often the republican party is known for getting rid of

electoral college especially after the recent election and the democratic party want to keep the

electoral college to keep the democracy of the country, however, there is major debate between

the American citizens and the government officials to either keep the electoral college or relay

on the popular vote.

Despite the Electoral College system being founded by the founding fathers in America

and being there as long as the Constitution exists, many people still do not have sufficient

knowledge of how it works. The system has a set amount of people voted for by the citizens of

the state and those individuals become part of congress and the electoral college. The people who

now make up the electoral college would then vote for the president out of the candidates. There
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are 538 electors in the electoral college. To win the presidency, the candidate needs to win 270

votes from the electoral college (Issues and Contraversies). To be in the electoral college, the

popular vote decides who is on it. There is a set number of people who vote within the electoral

college based on the population of each state. It was put in place to give smaller states a chance

to be able to get their own votes ‘heard’ within the election and limit the states with a higher

population. It also had the intention to keep the public from voting for a dangerous person into

the office so the system puts the responsibility on the electoral college to decide which candidate

is best fit.

In most cases, the popular vote lines up with the electoral college vote. However, there

are times where this has not happened, such as in the 2017 election year. During that election,

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, however Donald Trump lost the popular vote but won the

electoral college vote. (The Electoral college). This situation has only happened five times within

the country and twice within the last decade. After the 2017 election, the 2020 presidential

election was won by democrat, Joe Biden. Due to the mail in ballots, the republican party then

claimed that there was voter fraud on the democratic party (Brian Klaas). This leads to

suspicions of voting fraud within the electoral college and leaves many citizens dissatisfied with

the election. Following this, the republican party wanted to change the voting regulations and

have a revote of both the popular and electoral vote. However, the electoral college is in place to

choose the best candidate for the country using their expertise and knowledge that the public

may not know about the candidates. As the electoral college is chosen by the party of the most

votes in the states, they are not obligated to vote for that candidate of the same party.

After the 2020 election, and the allegations and assumptions made about the voting

numbers, the democratic party defended the system and the regulations we do have for voting
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today. Many people believed there was voter fraud within the 2020 election, as people were

mailing in their ballots. The assumption was shut down by legislators from both parties.

Following this many Republican legislators pressed local and state officials to adopt a new

voting regulations. Democrats bashed said bill and deemed it undemocratic (Voting Rights).

The electoral college has been around since 1804 (“The Electoral College.”) and was

perfect for that time and the situation of the growing country. Today, the electoral college is an

outdated system that we still use for the elections. With the grown population since it was in put

for the first time, it now gives bigger states an advantage in deciding president than smaller, less

populace states. The more populous states can have up to 55 voters for the electoral college as

smaller states have a minimum of three voters. This leaves a major disadvantage for each state

against the states with a higher population vs states with a much lower population.

Overall, the system that America follows for the presidential elections is not always the

best choice to choose the president of the country as it does not involve all citizens vote and

leaves many people dissatisfied. The whole election is based upon the votes from the electoral

college and not the popular vote of the American citizens. The voters in the electoral college vote

for the candidate they believe is the best person for presidency based off of their knowledge of

the candidates that may not be public information. In order to grow together as a country we

should be able to trust the popular vote during the elections. For this to happen all states would

have to amend the 12th amendment and have information on the candidates released to the public

to be able to choose the best fit candidate according to the peoples beliefs. This would leave the

presidential election to the popular vote and have the American citizens vote for their next

president.
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Works Cited
"Electoral college." Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 15 Jan. 2021,

icof.infobase.com/articles/ QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTY1MjQ=. Accessed 22 Mar. 2022. "The

Electoral College." Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 27 Sept. 1996, icof.infobase.com/articles/

QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTk2Mzg=. Accessed 23 Mar. 2022.

"Voting Rights." Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 1 Sept. 2021,

icof.infobase.com/articles/ QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTY1Mzc=. Accessed 23 Mar. 2022.

"What is the Electoral College? : The Presidential Election Process : Elections : Classroom

Materials at the Library of Congress : Library of Congress." The Library of Congress,

www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/presidential-election-process/ what-is-the-

electoral-college/ #:~:text=When%20citizens%20cast%20their%20ballots,popular%20vote

%20in%20an%20election. Accessed 24 Mar. 2022.