The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

The Electoral College, established by the Founding Fathers in the United States Constitution, acts as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and the election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (“Electoral College History”). When forming the electoral college, delegates rejected the idea of a popular vote due to the lack of faith that the people would make a wise choice when voting for leaders. However, in modern times education is more readily accessible for people and since the 1960’s over 50% of Americans have pursued the idea of dissolving the electoral college. The system has been flawed since its implementation. For instance, the 1800 election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
Moreover, Clay with merely 37 votes, the lowest of the four, made a deal with John Adams who had previously attained 84 electoral college votes and was second in most votes to Andrew Jackson. In exchange for a job as secretary of state for Quincy Adams, Clay agreed to promote Quincy Adams in his pursuit to becoming president, which would ultimately kick Jackson out of his leading spot. Even though Andrew Jackson had won the popular vote and was leading in the election from the electoral college, he was undermined by what could be called a flawed system (“Electoral College History”). The electoral college should be dissolved because not all states are properly represented and democracy should function on the will of the people, therefore, one vote per adult. Currently, smaller states have their representation through the number of senate seats and the house of representative seats, this allows for representation in the smaller populated states. Consequently, smaller states have their wants and needs understood by the United States
The popular vote represented the current needs of the people, including fundamental economic trends and the new attention brought to race and ethnic groups, which has been more relevant since the 2012 election and former President Obama’s time in office (Sides, J). Regardless of the trends of the time and Clinton’s win of the popular vote, it was inconsequential in the ending results. Conclusively, the power and ability of the electoral college to put the most qualified and most desirable candidates in office should be re-evaluated or possibly replaced to fit the modern United States, as the system is outdated and flawed. Works Cited “Electoral College History.” National Archives, 18 Nov. 2019, www.archives.gov/electoral-college/history. Eberhard, Kristin. “Small States Aren’t Actually Protected by the Electoral College.” Sightline Institute, 11 Dec. 2020, www.sightline.org/2020/12/11/small-states-arent-actually-protected-by-the-electoral-college/. “Electoral College Pros and Cons - Top 3 Arguments for and Against.” ProCon.org, 9 Dec. 2021,