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Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. [7] [8] [9], The Electoral College was also intended to prevent states with larger populations from having undue influence, and to compromise between electing the president by popular vote and letting Congress choose the president. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support national popular will in at least two respects. Nor is this concern entirely unfounded since there they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. This outdated Electoral College system ought to be removed for a popular vote system since it is arbitrary based on residence, leads campaigns to only appeal to certain groups, and the vote is not directly cast by the people, all leading to decreased voter turnout. choices available to the electorate. Either way, though, the person taking Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. Because of its considerable, nonvoting slave population, that region would have less clout under a popular-vote system. Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular Electoral College [18], A Nov. 6, 2016 episode of PBS NewsHour revealed that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have made more than 90% of their campaign stops in just 11 so-called battleground states. by William C. Kimberling, Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? Election of the President. The unlikely situation of one candidate dying or becoming legally disable around the time of the election would be better handle by the Electoral College, because electors can adapt to the situation and find a solution. Representatives. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. But so, as an Because the presidency represents the whole country? The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.. In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party Because the procedure for electing the president is part of the Constitution, a Constitutional Amendment (which requires two-thirds approval in both houses of Congress plus approval by 38 states) would be required to abolish the Electoral College. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. Lara Maupin has a Masters Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College.