Brianna Daniel

history pre-law sophomore

[email protected]

Hellfire has reigned down upon the Electoral College since the results of the 2016 presidential election were announced. Members of each party can be found in both strong support and wild opposition. Students in all majors at Loyola can be found promoting their opinions and ideas about the Electoral College to their fellow colleagues. With all the commotion surrounding the Electoral College, one would hope that the arguments from both sides are rooted strongly in history (not pseudohistory) and a thorough analysis of the Constitution. This is not always the case. Here are some things to consider about the Electoral College.

The structure of our great nation lies in a sense of distrust. Colonists severed ties with Britain because they distrusted the British government’s ability to rule adequately and fairly. Rhetoric in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Constitution feature phrases such as “engage the faith of our respective constituents,” “provide new guards for their future security,” “absolute tyranny,” and “by and with the advice and consent.” The Framers designed our government to prevent tyranny, which is demonstrated clearly through their language and in the checks and balances established between the branches of government. A sense of distrust existed not only between the Framers and the branches of government, but between the Framers and the people, as well. It can be argued that the Framers distrusted not only the process of democracy, but the common citizens that participated in it. They went back and forth between whether the Congress or the citizens should elect the president of the United States. A compromise resulted in the Constitutional framers’ decision to create the Electoral College.

Now flip to Article II Section I in your pocket Constitution. This section outlines the establishment and process of the Electoral College and the duties of the president. Read it. Read it, again. Now you have the knowledge about the establishment and set-up of the Electoral College. You should also now realize that the abolishment of the Electoral College would require an alteration to the Constitution. Arguments exist stating that the electoral college serves to represent the voices of those who are not normally heard. For example, some argue that without the Electoral College, candidates would only campaign in cities due to the population density in order to garner as many supporters as possible in one sweep as opposed to campaigning to multiple small towns. Others argue that a direct democratic election would empower all areas since there is no threat that either the rural or the urban areas would overpower the other.

There are plenty of other arguments that exist on either side, but legitimacy and accuracy is not always present. However, now that you, reader, have a basic foundation of knowledge in the origins of the Electoral College, you can read against the grain and not take every article as complete truth. You can base your opinions in history and in the Constitution and come to your own conclusions about whether the Electoral College is good for our nation or not. The ball is in your court now to further educate yourself.