For over two centuries, the US Electoral College has decided presidential elections, yet a majority of Americans now prefer a shift to a popular vote system.
According to a flurry of recent public polls, the majority of Americans favoured abolishing the Electoral College for the presidential election, a mechanism for the US president to be indirectly elected via a group of presidential electors instead of decided directly by voters.
The Pew Research Center survey released last month indicated that 63% of Americans favoured a direct popular vote for the nation’s president over the Electoral College, with around 80% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans in favour of doing away with the process.
The Public Policy Institute of California’s October poll also showed that seven out of 10 voters in California, the most populous state in the country, wanted the Electoral College abolished. The University of Massachusetts Amherst League of Women Votes (UMass Amherst) poll published on Friday showed six out of 10 American women favoured the abolishment of the Electoral College.
“The Electoral College is an outdated, racist relic with harmful implications for all voters,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters.
“So, it is no surprise that women are advocating for a more representative system that prioritises the power of the people. Voters, not politically motivated electors, must choose the president.”
No surprise there, since states whose electoral votes can swing the election despite losing the national vote tend to be Republican.
Donald Trump’s 2016 victory despite losing the popular vote by a significant margin fuelled public debate on the Electoral College’s legitimacy and underscored why, for many, it has to be repealed. For over two centuries, the US Electoral College has decided presidential elections, yet a majority of Americans now prefer a shift to a popular vote system that guarantees a democracy based on “one person, one vote”.
Battleground “swing” states like Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania received disproportionate clout, reinforcing the importance of a few decisive regions in determining the outcome, which many feel undermines democratic rule.
The roots of the Electoral College go back to the US Constitution’s framers, who sought to balance the influence of large and small states and prevent the dominance of heavily populated regions. However, critics argue that small states received disproportionate power, which led to outcomes that reflect the preferences of a minority rather than the broader electorate.
Moreover, such demographic and economic imbalances could lead to repeated situations where the popular vote winner does not win the presidency, fuelling distrust in the electoral process and political unrest.
The system led to controversies, particularly in close elections such as in 1824, 1876, and 2000. Each time, the candidate with the popular vote advantage was either narrowly elected by Congress or lost due to the Electoral College.
An additional issue lies with “faithless electors”, who occasionally vote contrary to their state’s popular vote since they are not required to follow their state voters. This gives a huge amount of power to a tiny handful of people – the opposite of the general election’s purpose.
“For much of the nation’s history, the Electoral College was an afterthought and viewed as a unique quirk in what otherwise was a democratic system of elections,” said Tatishe Nteta, provost professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll published Friday.
“In recent years, with increasingly close presidential elections, we have seen the Electoral College take centre stage in selecting the nation’s next president as winners of the popular vote in 2000 and 2016 failed to secure enough Electoral College votes to become president,” he noted.
Historically, Americans have supported eliminating the Electoral College. In the 1960s, over half favoured this change, and that number increased to 75% in the 1980s.
Reforming the system is challenging because it would require a constitutional amendment or a novel approach like the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC).
The NPVIC, supported by 15 states and Washington DC, would require participating states to allocate their electors to the national popular vote winner if the compact reaches a majority threshold of 270 electoral votes.
While this approach bypasses some legislative hurdles, it faces potential legal challenges and relies on continued support from states.
“Using a popular vote system is the only way we can uphold our democratic values, reflect the people’s will, and ensure fair representation in US presidential elections,” said Kevin K, a university economics major.
Cape Times
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