Why the Electoral College Should Be Abolished
This essay argues that the Electoral College is an outdated institution that undermines American democracy and should be replaced with a direct popular vote. Drawing on historical outcomes in which the popular-vote winner lost the presidency, the paper identifies two core problems: the systematic disenfranchisement of voters in non-competitive states and the distortion of candidate policy priorities toward a small number of swing states. The essay reviews how current allocation rules vary widely across states, creating confusion and eroding public trust. It concludes with a call for a constitutional amendment abolishing the Electoral College, asserting that direct popular election is the only meaningful reform.
- Introduction: A Democracy Deferred: Electoral College origins and its core democratic problem
- How the Electoral College Works: Constitutional basis and elector allocation mechanics
- Problem 1: Voter Disenfranchisement in Non-Battleground States: Ignored voters in non-competitive states each election
- Problem 2: Policy Distortion Toward Swing States: Candidate priorities skewed toward swing-state issues
- Recommendations: Abolish the Electoral College: Constitutional amendment for direct popular election
- Conclusion: Every Vote Must Count: Urgent call to action for electoral reform
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The paper uses a clear problem-solution structure, moving logically from defining the Electoral College's mechanics to identifying specific harms and then advocating a concrete remedy.
- It anchors its claims in cited evidence — including peer-reviewed law review commentary and legislative journals — giving the persuasive argument a measure of scholarly credibility.
- The numbered problem format keeps the critique organized and easy to follow, helping readers distinguish distinct arguments against the Electoral College.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates effective use of multiple source types within a single argumentative framework. The writer integrates a law review article, a state legislative journal, a newspaper editorial, and a government reference to build a multi-dimensional critique, showing how advocacy writing can draw on diverse evidence to support a unified thesis.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens by defining the Electoral College and its constitutional basis, then shifts to an analytical section that enumerates two numbered problems supported by citations. A recommendations section follows with a direct policy call, and a brief concluding appeal reinforces the urgency of reform. This four-part arc — definition, analysis, recommendation, call to action — is a classic structure for policy-advocacy writing at the undergraduate level.
Introduction: A Democracy Deferred
The United States has a problem, and simply kicking it down the road is no longer acceptable. The Electoral College was established in 1787 during a period in American history when the Founding Fathers had few models to draw on as they crafted the laws governing presidential elections. Since its establishment, the Electoral College has served as the formal body used to elect the nation's president and vice president, rather than relying on a straightforward count of the nationwide popular vote.
Unfortunately, this convoluted 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 manipulation of voter districts and increasingly overt efforts at voter suppression. In sum, the American people want, need, and deserve to elect their president directly.
How the Electoral College Works
The operation of the Electoral College is set forth in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which stipulates that the total number of representatives and senators each state has equals the number of "electors" it sends to the Electoral College. The District of Columbia holds three electors. 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 who are then tasked with casting their ballots in line with voters' preferences (Electoral College Facts, 2020).
Over the course of 56 presidential elections in U.S. history, the winner of the popular vote lost the election due to the Electoral College outcome at least four times, meaning the will of the American people was subverted by this irrelevant, arcane, and archaic institution. Although the candidate receiving the most popular votes is required to receive the corresponding electoral votes in 26 states and the District of Columbia, the remaining states use a variety of different methods to allocate their electoral votes (Electoral College Facts, 2020), leading to confusion and deepening public distrust of the election process.
Problem 1: Voter Disenfranchisement in Non-Battleground States
Beyond this fundamental flaw, there are additional issues associated with the Electoral College that warrant its abolishment. Chief among them is the systematic disenfranchisement of voters in non-competitive states. Except for television and radio advertising, presidential candidates tend to ignore the 40-plus states they know they cannot win or cannot lose, concentrating instead on the states that are competitive and carry the most electoral votes — such as California, Texas, and New York. This has serious implications for voters in the remaining "ignored" states.
The editors of New York Times Upfront emphasize that "with the Electoral College, voters in two-thirds of the states are effectively disenfranchised from choosing the president because they do not live in closely divided 'battleground' states" (Should We Elect the President by Popular Vote?, 2008, p. 22). This point was reinforced by Pearson (2020), who cites the 2016 presidential election as a clear example of a broken system. According to Pearson (2020), the Electoral College is why "70% of American voters are ignored, while campaigns shower attention on five to 12 battleground states. In 2016, two-thirds of the general election campaign — in spending and events — took place in only six states; 94% was centered in just 12 states" (p. 30).
Conclusion: Every Vote Must Count
The American people have waited long enough. Continuing to ignore the votes of 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. Abolishing the Electoral College and replacing it with a direct popular vote would make America a genuine democracy — one in which every vote truly counts, once and for all.
References
Althouse, A. (2009, Spring). Electoral College reform: Deja vu. Northwestern University Law Review, 95(3), 993–999.
Black, E. (2012, October 14). Ten reasons why the Electoral College should be eliminated. Minneapolis Post. Retrieved from
Electoral College facts. (2020). U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved from https://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/
Pearson, C. (2020, March–April). Winner-take-all ignores the will of too many voters: The Electoral College should follow the popular vote. State Legislature, 46(2), 29–33.
Should we elect the president by popular vote? After hundreds of attempts to abolish the Electoral College, opponents are promoting a plan to work around it. (2008). New York Times Upfront, 140(10), 22.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.