The relationship between the Electoral College and our votes

The Electoral College is a process not a place. It was established by the founding fathers as a compromise between the election of the President by Congress and election by popular vote. Coverage of the election process and the votes on Election Day give you the impression that at the end of the day we have elected a President. This proves not to be the case, as the Electoral College actually elects the President through votes approximately one month after the election. The relationship between the Electoral College and our votes is a simple one, but is the process in place the one that should be in place? The selection of electors must take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November which amounts to the votes cast in the election.

The college consists of electors which total the number of elected representatives and senators for each state and three for the District of Columbia. This makes a total of 538 electors. Once the election is held, these electors actually decide who the President will be, which hopefully will be in response to the will of the people in each individual state. The process was a good idea in the beginning of our country with the way it was situated with long distances between the various population centers. This created a communication problem which had to have a method to determine election results for the President.

States with high populations get more votes than those with less population. This provides a disproportion of votes and is why candidates seem to spend more time in states with the higher numbers. If I were a candidate, I would do the same thing, but I would not disregard states with a lower number of votes. Every state deserves equal representation when it comes to voting for the President through the Electoral College. One may question the justification for the college to continue. While it is not perfect it does provide a process for validating Presidential elections. The process of the Electoral College needs to be changed to provide equal representation and/or change the allocation of the votes for the candidates running for office. Some, however, do not agree with this view.

Candidates who receive the greatest number of votes in a given state receive the entire quantity of elector votes for that state. Candidates who represent a political party in a Presidential election should be allocated the percentage of elector votes based on the percentage of votes they received in a given state. If this process were in place, one important thing would happen. Votes for each candidate would be recognized, which would increase the importance of every vote cast in the election. Ignoring the votes cast for a candidate who does not get the highest number of votes in a state does not provide equal representation or importance for every vote.

Often in news reports and out of the mouths of candidates it is stated that every vote counts, but in the above scenario this does not really occur. Is it time that the electoral process be changed, and if so how would it be done? Some reports have indicated in past attempts that it requires a Constitutional Amendment. I respectfully disagree that this is required. It is true that there are distinct requirements within the Constitution referencing requirements associated with electors for each state. The main points are that it identifies the number of electors, when they will vote, and who cannot be an elector in the political process. The Constitution does not dictate how electors will be selected, how they will vote, or how their votes will be allocated to the candidates in the Presidential election. These requirements are left to each individual state.

The responsibilities tasked to the states make it clear that a Constitutional Amendment is not required to change the electoral process unless such changes affect the requirements as outlined in various amendments to the Constitution. The freedom to select electors, how they will vote and how their votes will be allocated are under the control of each state legislature. In terms of how votes are allocated, there are only two states who allocate by percentage, while the remaining forty eight award the entire amount to the candidate who receives the largest percentage. Sometimes the percentage of votes a candidate receives is so close (within a percentage point) that to award all elector votes to one individual is questionable at best. Under the present system, a candidate could actually win the public vote, but lose the election due to the electoral college.

The process of selecting electors in each state should be reviewed in terms of how votes are allocated. Legislatures across the country must understand the principle that all votes are important and should have proper recognition. The every vote counts philosophy is great, but every state needs to implement that philosophy in their allocation process.