Electoral College

Post Election 2012 – A Little Insight…

By: Jonathan Smith

        For those of you who live under a rock, or otherwise have no immediate connection to politics or news, Obama has won the American Presidential race in 2012. Many people have mixed opinions on how good this is for our country. I’m one, of the majority I guess, that believes that it’s a good move forward for the U.S. What I have found though, throughout conversations with my peers, is that many individuals don’t have a firm understanding of the electoral college. Below you will read about my interpretation of how the electoral college works, and why it’s a good system we use in America.

        One key event that sparked me to learn more about the electoral college was when Al Gore won the popular vote of the people but failed to gain enough electoral votes, so the election went to George Bush. After a little bit of research I found that the electoral college works off of the popular votes on a per state basis. This is true except for Maine and Nebraska. In the other 48 states, whichever candidate wins the popular vote (people going to the booths and voting) for a particular state, they also win the electoral votes for that state. Maine and Nebraska award electoral votes to candidates based on proportional representation. The majority vote winner for that state wins 2 electoral points, and the other points are distributed based on congressional district.

        Ever wonder what would happen if both presidential candidates ended up not getting the majority of the popular or electoral votes? (although the circumstances are extremely unlikely, it has happened!) This happened when John Quincy Adams was elected president in 1824. He didn’t receive the popular votes from either category, so the top 3 candidates plead their case to the House of Representatives. The House then votes and the candidate that receives the majority of these votes is elected.

        So all in all, the electoral college, to me comes off as fair. Although the overall popular vote for the president doesn’t dictate the outcome, the state popular votes do dictate the outcome. This creates a junction and union between government at the federal and state levels. This election method has been thoroughly criticized by many. I think a Huffington Post quote says its best: “it ensures the rights of the smaller states and stands as an important piece of American federalist democracy.