Kaicie Boeglin
Opinions Editor
The battle royale of public opinion is the only stance for the abolition of the electoral college. The representative democracy of America amplifies the notion civilians elect who they want, thus providing the issue of the popular vote. Reality is that Americans vote for an electorate such as senators and representatives that will oversee their basic needs. These electorates make up congress, and congress is the foundation of the electoral college. The people who directly vote upon the president, and upset the terms of the popular vote are elected by us, thus proving midterm elections matter more.
The electoral college was founded within The Constitution, and declares all elected officials from the states, plus an allotted three for Washington D.C. will congregate every four years to vote on the presidential candidates. The total number of persons is 538, which means a candidate needs an absolute majority vote of 270 or higher to win. Every state is guaranteed two votes in the college due to senators, but can retain more seats depending on each state's number of representatives.
Most people neglect to realize congress is the electoral college, causing the desire to abolish it become redundant. Voter participation remains low as people grow into the idea that their vote doesn’t matter. However, this concept would change if midterm elections were explained more in depth. Midterm elections happen every two years; two-thirds of the senate, and every member of the house of representatives are up for reelection during midterm elections. The nation has the chance to flip the house majority every two years, and if the chance was taken, it could be easily done.
As republicans held the majority of the house near the end of Obama’s term, it was no surprise that Donald Trump claimed victory over Hilary Clinton receiving the popular vote. The opinions of humanity are ever growing and for every citizen to produce a vote would cause anarchy. Not to mention a major time issue for vote counting.
The trickiness of the electoral college comes with how they are to cast their votes. The National Archives claim that there’s never been a federal law requiring electors to vote according to their state’s popular vote results. However, in 48 of the states and Washington D.C., after the popular vote is counted electorates must align their vote to the candidate who won the statewide plurality. In a breakdown think about it this way; a town votes majority republican, but the state majority voted democrat, the electorates for that state would need to vote democratic.
Our congressional members are to be elected by us to oversee the needs of the community. The electoral college votes as our majority through representation. To see a true change we do not need to abolish the electoral college. We need to better understand, and fully acknowledge the power of midterm congressional elections. Congress are the ones closest to the people, and they can override a presidential veto. Congressional members will be viewed as angelic and demonic, however, don’t just view your elected officials. Communicate with your electorates and remember to pay attention to midterm elections because your vote matters. The popular vote and actual outcome will only match when Americans realize who truly holds the power. If the nation is to stand fully for the people, and by the people, then we the people must pay attention to who has hands on the controls. Remember to look into the issues and vote with clarity, because the country could portray the illusion of a true democracy, if the American people were to be well informed and advocate for themselves as well as the needs of their respective states.
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