Outdated Electoral College Fails Democracy

Voting is considered a quintessential aspect of democracy. Every 4 years, Americans head to the polls for a chance to exercise influence over the future of their country. However, our electoral college voting system is outdated for our country and restrictive of our political freedom.

America’s elections are determined by the popular vote of each state rather than the popular vote nationwide. I believe that separate state elections are unnecessary and detrimental to our concept of democracy. Presidential candidates should focus on winning the national majority, rather than electoral college votes from certain states.

The electoral college was created, according to www.historycentral.com, to create a “buffer between population and the election of a President.”

There should be no such buffer.

“Go out and vote! Your vote is essential,” I have heard often during this election cycle. As a member of the younger generation, I hear much complaint that my peers are politically ambivalent. But I understand why so many people feel uninspired to vote, knowing that unless they live in a swing state, the candidate who will receive their state’s vote has basically already been decided.

The Hill, a US political website, predicts that that the popular vote could actually determine the election in 2020. If the popular vote determines the election in 2020, that would be monumental in American politics. Our country would move away from a two-party system, and Green Party and libertarian candidates may stand a chance. A three or four party system would make winning an election much more interesting, and give the American people a more compelling reason to participate.

According to the poll database Gallup, 62% of the population is for abolishing the electoral college and replacing it with the popular vote. The rest are likely either uninterested in a change or fearful of one. We are maintaining an outdated, restrictive election system for no good reason.

According to “flunking the Electoral College,” a New York Times editorial from 2008, the electoral college has lost all relevance, and its disadvantages severely affect the American people. “The system excludes many voters from a meaningful role in presidential elections,” said the article.

As someone who will have waited 18 years in order to have a say in American politics, I want my vote to count. An abolishment of the electoral college is necessary to increase political enthusiasm and provide, for an election of such importance as the presidential one, more than two realistic options.