Copyright © 2021 The Federalist, a wholly independent division of FDRLST Media, All Rights Reserved. This has already happened exactly four times in the nation's history: It is sometimes reported that Richard M. Nixon received more popular votes in the 1960 election than winner John F. Kennedy, but official results showed Kennedy with 34,227,096 popular votes to Nixon's 34,107,646. There’s no need for a national recount when you have an electoral college. All Americans benefit from a greater diversity of thought, action, and opportunities. America can currently tolerate a socialism-friendly Vermont right alongside a no-income-tax polity such as New Hampshire because the U.S. system does not promote nor demand cookie-cutter states. The short-sighted ignorance represented by the movement to abolish or circumvent the Electoral College and constitutional limits will not enhance voter rights, but it will open the door to greater abuse, fraud, and tyranny of the majority. Democrats Can’t Be Trusted. Moreover, 12 states control 53 percent of the votes in the Electoral College, leaving only 38 states that might even consider ratification. America is, after all, a democracy, is it not? "Electoral College Results." The question is not whether it is better for presidents and presidential candidates to care about, and travel to, the entire country or just a portion of it. Richard P. Bruneau holds graduate degrees in history and liberal studies from Wesleyan University and Central Connecticut State University. Leaving aside the fact that a deal is a deal, there are very practical reasons why we will always need the Electoral College under our current constitutional system. Fifty states, engaged in a hothouse of democratic experimentation and exploration for creative political solutions, has benefitted America throughout her history. The Electoral College helps give rural states with lower populations an equal voice. Abolishing the Electoral College would be a disaster for freedom and the constitutional imperative to prevent the concentration and abuse of power. For an example, go to this page. And who did the House decide on in those two cases? Witness where potential voter fraud has emerged in the current election. Why the Electoral College is good? … It’s the reason why people say … In reality, it was the Framers of the Constitution who came up with the Electoral College, not the Founding Fathers. The Founders intended for the Electoral College to act the exact way the … Getting elections as close to correct as possible is essential to democracy. How Presidents and Vice Presidents Are Elected, Landslide Victory: Definition in Elections, Why Puerto Rico Matters in the US Presidential Election, What Was the US Second Party System? The title of Alexander Keyssar’s new book—Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?—is also, he says, the question Americans ask themselves every four years. If one state has voting issues, you can just do a recount in that state rather than creating national upheaval. Supporters of the Electoral College argue that it is fundamental to American federalism, that it requires candidates to appeal to voters outside large cities, increases the political influence of small states, preserves the two-party system, and makes the electoral outcome appear more legitimate than that of a How the US Electoral College System Works, Presidents Elected Without Winning the Popular Vote, Vice President of the United States: Duties and Details, What Happens If the Presidential Election Is a Tie. The United States Electoral College, however, was established by the United States Constitution and was created to ensure that elections don’t result in huge sections of society being unrepresented. 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