Is the U.S. Electoral College Undemocratic?

Abstract

Abstract Background: Until it supplants the popular vote, few in the public notice or think about the U.S. Electoral College and its role in electing the president. While it had backfired just a few times in the 19th Century, having the Electoral College overturn the popular vote twice in the 21st Century rendered the institution indefensible. This study explored how we got stuck with this system and how we might revise or eliminate it for direct, popular election of the president. Objective: This study explored why this system was implemented by the Founding Fathers at the 1787 Constitutional Convention and why such an undemocratic method of choosing the president is in use to this day. Design and Method: In a survey of relevant peer-reviewed articles found through the SUNY Purchase Library Database, most of the researchers were in favor of eliminating or modifying the Electoral College. Just three of the researchers were in favor of its retention. The opinions of both sides of this topic were synthesized and evaluated in terms of adequately supporting their respective positions on the Electoral College. Results: Eight of the eleven researchers found that the Electoral College was certainly undemocratic. Several of the eight proposed ways of modifying it to better represent the will of the voter without amending the Constitution. In these remarkably partisan times, this seems a better course of action but might also not result in any substantial change to the allocation of electors from our current winner-take-all system, which is in use in 49 of the 51 election ‘units,’ as the states and District of Columbia are known, to create a form of proportional representation. Conclusion: While partisan politics has clouded the dream of democratic representation, some states have initiated the Electoral College National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Once the equivalent of 270 Electoral College votes have been reached by additional states joining this agreement, all member states will award their Electoral College votes to the popular vote winner. In lieu of a Constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College or state-by-state adaptation of proportional selection of the Electoral College Electors, the Interstate Compact would be the winning, democratic compromise that would be permitted by the Constitution. Keywords: Political Science, Presidential Elections, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Electoral College, U.S. Presidential Electoral College