Abolish the Electoral College Now!
Definition of the Problem:
The United States has a problem and just kicking it down the road isn’t enough anymore. The Electoral College was established in 1787 during a period in America’s history when the Founding Fathers had few models to draw on when they crafted the presidential election laws.
Since its establishment, the Electoral College has been the formal body that is used to elect the nation’s president and vice president rather than relying on a straight count of the nation-wide popular vote. The operation of the Electoral College is set forth in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution which stipulates that the total of representatives and senators that each state has equals the number of "electors" it sends to the Electoral College (the District of Columbia has three electors in the Electoral College).
This means that when Americans vote in presidential elections, they are not voting directly for the candidate of their choice but rather for a slate of electors that is then tasked with casting their ballots in line with the voters’ preferences districts (Electoral college facts, 2020).
Unfortunately, this Rube Goldberg approach to electing the leader of the Free World has subverted the will of the American people more than once, and the potential for future recurrences is even greater due to politically motivated demographic manipulations...
In sum, the American people want, need and deserve to elect their president directly.
Analysis of the Problem
Over the course of the 56 presidential elections in the history of the United States, the winner of the popular vote lost the election due to the outcome of the Electoral College vote at least four times, meaning that the will of the American people was subverted by this irrelevant, arcane and archaic government institution.
Although the candidate that receives the most popular votes is required to receive the electoral votes in 26 states and the District of...
Fortunately, unlike the answers to most of the major crises that are facing the country at present, the solution to promoting participatory politics in the United States is straightforward and easy to implement: Abolish the Electoral College and do it today! As Althouse (2011) concludes, “Direct popular election of the President is the only real reform” (p. 994). Please contact your congressional representatives and senators and encourage them to abolish the Electoral College through a constitutional amendment at the earliest opportunity. The country and its electorate deserve no less!
Now is the time!
The American people have waited long enough! We hope you join us in our efforts to abolish the Electoral College and make America a real democracy where every vote really does count once and for all. Continuing to ignore the votes of more than tens of millions of Americans has repercussions beyond each presidential election and extends to an increasing dilution of trust in a voting system that routinely marginalizes a majority of American voters.…
