5.1.1 Should the Electoral College be reformed?

Question 1

yes

popular vote?

Answer 1

• In 2 of the last 6 presidential elections the winner of the popular vote has lost in the electoral college.

Question 2

yes

third parties?

Answer 2

• basically excludes third parties from the process as ECVs are not allocated proportionally and third party votes tend to be spread thinly rather than concentrated

Question 3

yes

small states representation?

wyoming vs california

Answer 3

• small states are over-represented
• California has 54 ECVs and a population of nearly 40m
• wyoming has 3 ECVs and a population of 600,000
• this means each ECV exercised in Wyoming represents around 200,000 people, while a Californian ECV represents over 3x as many people

Question 4

yes

bellwether states

Answer 4

• over-represented as their votes can change the election. Most states are ignored because they are more predictable.

Question 5

yes

faithless electors

Answer 5

• the fact they exist undermines basic principles of democracy
• reform is needed to maintain legitimacy in US elections

Question 6

no

small states

Answer 6

• remain represented
• could be ignored without the electoral college
• it also maintains federalism by allowing differing electoral procedures in each state

Question 7

no

tyranny of the majority

Answer 7

the electoral college guards against it
- founding fathers were not convinced of the wisdom of popular sovereignty
- indirect election disperses power away from the public.

Question 8

no

lack of consensus?

Answer 8

• over how reform would work
• proportional allocation of ECVs has been suggested along with replacing it with a national vote
• this is problematic given the difficulty of passig a constitutional amendment generally.

Question 9

no

clear results

Answer 9

• the electoral college (broadly) has produced a clear winner
• resulting 2 party system means the winner has a clear majority of ECVs and a strong mandate to govern