The United States of America should use the Electoral College to elect the president. I believe this because it gives the whole nation a say in the presidency. For the most part, the electoral college agrees with the popular vote, only five times did the presidential candidate who received the popular vote lose the election. In 1824 (John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland), 2000 (George W Bush over Al Gore) and in 2016 (Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton). There is a pattern, three of the five were before the twentieth century.

The Electoral College is a way to insure that the president is selected by educated and informed individuals. “The people are uninformed, and would be misled by a few designing men.” (Delegate Elbridge Gerry, July 19, 1787). This isn’t as prominent as it was when it was implemented, however it is still important. It isn’t as big of an issue now because information is much easier to access with the invention of the internet and cell phones. The issue now isn’t the lack of information, it is the ignorance of the voters. A study from Forbes Magazine states that only thirty-four percent of Americans can name the three branches of government; the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. 

The Electoral College represents the entire nation, not just the heavily populated cities. If the Electoral College is removed than it would make the voice of the small town, rural areas and rural states nonexistent. This is because twenty percent of the population live on ninety-seven percent of the land. The Electoral College requires that the candidates campaign in all areas, including the farmland of Idaho and the factory workers in Kansas. The Electoral College ensures that the needs of the entire country are met. If there wasn’t and electoral college, the candidates would focus all of their time and resources in the big cities, ignoring the smaller, less influential states. If the electoral college is removed, the people in the cities would make the rules and laws for those that live in rural areas in which those rules and laws wouldn’t make sense. This affects me because I used to live in a more rural area, however my parents would always go vote because they knew they had a say in who gets elected. Without the Electoral College it is likely my parents would not have voted, this is because they know that people that live outside of densely populated areas would have little to no say.

The Electoral College was implemented to help separate power. The Founding Fathers’ main goal was to create a government that had a separation of powers, and that no single entity has supreme power, including the people. 

I believe that the Electoral College should not be removed. I believe this because in my opinion the pros outweigh the cons. The importance of the entire nations voice is imperative to the nation’s success. It is hypocritical to ignore the minority, their voice needs to be heard, the electoral college allows for this. 

Important Links:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredmeyer/2016/06/27/american-voters-are-ignorant-but-not-stupid/#3dd9ec07ff17

https://reason.com/2018/11/05/political-ignorance-and-the-midterm-elec/

https://www.thoughtco.com/why-keep-the-electoral-college-3322050

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/11/16/should-the-electoral-college-be-abolished

https://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005330