Electoral College Is Our System

Published January 1st, 2017 in The Jamestown Post-Journal

There are two issues that have surfaced since the election: one which, in my mind, should cause some real concern. The other should be forgotten and left behind.

The “real” issue is whether and to what extent the election was influenced by a foreign power(s) through hacking on the internet and abuse of the electronic media. The name most mentioned is Russia, but the issue goes beyond one country. If our elections can be interfered with or corrupted by any foreign power… it is a matter that should concern us all. Both Democrats and Republicans in the Congress have expressed concern about this, and hopefully, can they can get to the bottom of it.

The other issue which has received a lot of “buzz” is the matter of the Electoral College. Since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over 2 million votes, there are a lot of voices calling for the direct election of the President. To that, an old cliche is probably the best advice: “Don’t waste your time, forget about it!” The Electoral College is a part of the U.S. Constitution and it is not going to change.

Back in college I read James Madison’s Journals of the Constitutional Convention. What came out in those journals is that the Constitution was created through a series of compromises. The agricultural states were concerned about the influence of the commercial/industrial states. Small states wanted protection against bigger states. And, there was an underlying concern about the wisdom of the populace in directly electing the President. The creation of the Electoral College was one of the compromises made to address these concerns.

So think about our politics today. Nothing much has really changed. The small states still want protection from the bigger states, and smaller states benefit by getting leverage through the Electoral College. Agricultural states, like Iowa, still worry about the overpowering influence of large populated, commercial states like California and New York. Southern states still resent the financial power of northern states, etc. The beat goes on!

Since the Constitution requires a vote of three-fourths of the states to amend the Constitution, what are the chances that smaller states in the union would ever approve an amendment diminishing their power by eliminating the Electoral College? I would say slim to none. If you lived in the Dakotas, Rhode Island or Wyoming would you vote for such an amendment? Probably not. 

If you lived in the Dakotas, Rhode Island or Wyoming would you vote for such an amendment?  Probably not. 

So we have to move on. This year the Electoral College benefitted the Republican candidate. Next time it could benefit the Democratic candidate. What we do know is that everyone running for President knows the rules. Not only do you need to win the election, you need to carry a certain number of states in order to secure your victory in the Electoral College. Usually, the popular vote winner also wins the vote in the Electoral College — but not this year.

It is not a perfect system, and it may seem undemocratic and unreasonable to people from other countries. However, it is our system. It has been our system since the founding of the union, and it is doubtful we would have had a union without it. It will continue to be the system used in our national elections for the Presidency of our country. Forget about trying to change it.


Rolland Kidder

Mr. Kidder is a Stow resident.