With the recent election, politics are near the front of many people’s minds. Since America’s first presidential election in 1788, America has decided its nation’s leaders with the Electoral College every four years for the past 237 years. The Electoral College is a process that is an addition to the popular vote that Americans participate in every election as they practice their nation’s democracy. When the framers of the United States Constitution established the Electoral College, it was a compromise between the popular vote and Congress’ decision for who should lead the country. The process was considered a temporary solution for the time, and America still struggles with the issue of the Electoral College and how we could improve it. Many Americans have been looking for an alternate or improved solution since the beginning, and the National Archives records that more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to improve or abolish the Electoral College in the past 200 years.

The United States, although commonly known as a democracy, is also described as a republic, due to the significant power given to each state in the election process by the Electoral College. The electors are those voted by a certain political party to represent the party in their state. There are a different number of electors depending on the size of the population, which gives each state an equal representation in the voting process. When the popular votes have been cast, the electors must vote for the presidential candidate with the majority of votes within that state, therefore giving the same number of votes to a candidate as the state’s number of electors.
The AP Government class at Gig Harbor High School was asked their opinion on the subject with the following questions: Do you think the Electoral College could be improved, and if so, how? One senior taking AP Government this year, Robbie Wade, stated his opinion, “I don’t think that the Electoral College should change; I think it is fine how it is.” He then elaborates, adding that the Electoral College, although it has its downsides, gives equal representation for each state without giving one state too much power in the electoral process. The Electoral College is designed specifically for the equal representation of each state, and only four presidential candidates since 1788 have won the presidential election due to majority electoral votes but lost the popular vote.

Many options, opinions, and opportunities have been presented concerning the nation’s electoral system, but none have been passed due to the differing ideals of our citizens and leaders alike. It’s difficult to say whether or not the issue is currently important enough to America as a whole for an alternate solution to be put into motion, but there’s no doubt that many U.S. citizens are looking for change.