The Electoral College

The practices of the Electoral College today differ significantly from those instituted by the Founding Fathers of the United States. When this institution was created, it was for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice-president, leaders that are elected nationally in the country. The Founders intended that the entity of the Electoral College be a symbol of unity for any differences that may have arisen in the community, advanced by aspects such as power, civic knowledge, and regionalism.

In the original Electoral College, every state was represented based on the number of political members it had in the Senate and House. Every state in the United States had the power to decide how it would distribute its electoral votes as planned by the Founding Fathers. Further, in the original Electoral College, the top two candidates shared positional powers depending on the number of votes they garnered, even if they were from different political parties (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2019). Thus, for instance, the top candidate voted in by the Electoral College would be the president of the Democrat Party. In contrast, the second-best candidate would be the vice president, even if they were from the Republican Party.

However, today, the practices of the Electoral College have changed considerably and vary from those instituted by the Founders of the United States. Today, the Electoral College does not award the second-best candidate the position of vice president during elections, as this would create tension if they were from different parties. The winner of the Electoral College becomes president automatically today and is accorded the prestige of selecting their preferred vice-president, unlike before, when this position was decided by the above institution (Dautrich et al., 2016). Moreover, electors today are chosen through a system of popular votes, while in the past, they were elected through the state legislature. Overall, the processes of the Electoral College have changed significantly today compared to those practised in the past.

References

Dautrich, K., Yalof, D. A., & Bejarano, C. (2016). The enduring democracy. Cengage Learning.

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. (2019, December 17). Electoral College history. National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/history

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