The Electoral College is a system in which representatives from each state vote on behalf of the state’s population during a presidential election. Each state gets a set number of voters based on population, and a candidate must receive a majority of 270 votes to win. The system is overseen by the Office of the Federal Register, and most states use a winner-takes-all system. Critics argue that the system is outdated and unfair, but changing it would require a constitutional amendment.
During a national presidential election, each state sends representatives, electoral college members to vote on behalf of the state’s population. Our Constitution provides for voters as a way to share power between the federal and state governments in our country’s system of federalism. In this way, neither the government nor the general population are fully responsible for electing a president.
Each state, plus the District of Columbia, gets a set number of voters based on population. The number of electors is only the number of Senators (always two) plus the number of Deputies in the Chamber. This does not track proportionally, state-to-state, based on population. The numbers are updated every ten years with the results of the National Census. For the decade 2000-2010, there are 538 total voters. A presidential candidate must receive a majority of votes from the electoral college, or 270 votes, to be declared the winner.
While the Constitution provides for such a system, it is not detailed in the implementation arrangements. The Office of the Federal Register oversees the electoral nomination process, usually at state party conventions, and organizes their voting. Nearly all states use a winner-takes-all system, so voters are committed to voting for whichever candidate wins the state’s popular vote. Only Maine and Nebraska use proportional systems that could give some electoral votes to one candidate and some to another. In fact, voters are not legally obliged to vote for the leading candidate, but are usually loyal to their party. If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the decision is made in Congress, where each state gets only one vote, cast by one representative.
Almost as long as the Electoral College has existed, there has been debate about its effectiveness. Those who would abolish or renew the system point out that it is possible to win the presidency without winning the national popular vote, which they believe is illogical. Others believe that we no longer need such a carefully guarded balance between “the masses” and a centralized government. Critics also point out that sparsely populated states, because at least three electoral votes are guaranteed, have an unfair advantage in the disproportionate distribution of voters. Making significant changes to the electoral college, however, would require a constitutional amendment.
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