Alexander Keyssar: Do Away With the Electoral College

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Historian Alexander Keyssar wrote “As a nation, we have come to embrace “one person, one vote” as a fundamental democratic principle, yet the allocation of electoral votes to the states violates that principle.” No other aspect of the constitution is as outdated as the system of the electoral college. The devastating effects of its prolonged implementation can be witnessed by the results of our most recent presidential election. The electoral college went against the vote of the majority and imposed its will upon our nation. The idea of the electoral college was incorporated into the constitution during the founding as a way to minimize the power imbalance between high-population and low-population states. There was also a mistrust in the judgement of our citizens that created a need for a back-up plan in case the election resulted in an unacceptable appointment. Part of this mistrust was due to the fact that communicating information across all states about the candidates was impossible. This inability to educate all citizens about every option they had (due to unequal access to research any candidate) was seen as a threat to the objectivity of the voting process. However, this is not the case anymore. We have advanced technology and endless ways to stay up-to-date on current events. There is no longer a need to give such unchecked power to the electoral college. No institution should be able to override the wishes of the majority. The electoral college needs to be corrected so that it keeps up with the needs of our country. It is utterly disappointing that our nation, a leader amongst developed nations, still functions under a system that tramples over the purpose of a democracy. This distortion of the American vote creates tension and alienation within the states. If citizens are not being accurately represented, then that completely defeats the purpose of the voting process.  

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