Electoral College Debates

What is electoral college

Constitutional mechanism (Article II) used to elect the US President. It allocates electoral votes to states based on congressional representation (House + Senate).

How do they introduce unpredictability and rogue actors into the presidential election?

They allows electors to technically vote against the will of their state, potentially altering the outcome.

How many faithless electors in 2016

A record of 7

What happens if no candidate reaches 270

Election goes to the House of Representatives, which is highly undemocratic

How does the system provides necessary stability and prevents political fragmentation?

Winner-takes-all (FPTP) forces broad coalitions and maintains a stable two-party system

Have faithless electors ever changed an election outcome

no

How does ecv systen ignore vast swathes of the country

Candidates only campaign in a handful of battleground states, ignoring the concerns of millions

In how many states did 2/3 of the 2016 campaign events take place in

only 6

Which two massive states are largely ignored by candidates

California and Texas

how does the system protect the principle of federalism and the interests of smaller states

Forces candidates to build a nationwide coalition, preventing candidates from just pandering to huge urban centres

How many ecvs does wyoming have

3, the minimum

A national popular vote would mean candidates only visiting:

New York, LA, and Chicago

how does ecv system violates the fundamental democratic principle of "one person, one vote."

The winner of the national popular vote can lose the presidency, and the ratio of electoral votes to population is wildly disproportionate across states

by how much did clinton win the popular vote by in 2016 but still lost presidency

2.9M

Examples of unfair population to ecv ratio - cali and wyoming

California has 39 million people and 55 EC votes (709,000 ppv). Wyoming has 580,000 people and 3 EC votes (~193,000 ppv. Wyoming voter has 3.7x the influence of a California voter.

how does it protect against the "tyranny of the majority" and ensures a stable mandate

Founding Fathers designed it to prevent highly populated areas from dominating the rest of the country

It ensures a president must have geographically broad support, not just concentrated urban support

It gives a clear winner and a clear mandate, avoiding recounts in every single state