With Your New Knowledge Of The Electoral College, Write An ✓ Solved

With your new knowledge of the Electoral College, write an

With your new knowledge of the Electoral College, write an essay of between one and two pages. Type one line at the top of Page 1: Your Name, POS 2041, Electoral College. Readings and resources to use as context: We the People (12th ed.), Chapter 7; New York Times, "Amid Pandemic and Upheaval, New Cyber Risks to the Presidential Election" (June 7, 2020); National Archives: "What Is the Electoral College?", "Electoral College History", "Distribution of Electoral Votes"; Jonathan Mahler & Steve Eder, New York Times (Nov. 10, 2016); Richard A. Posner, Slate (Nov. 12, 2012); Morgan Marieta, The Conversation (June 17, 2020); and the video "Does your vote count? The Electoral College explained." Assignment: Choose one of two positions: (1) Argue why the Electoral College is the best way to elect a president; or (2) Argue why the Electoral College should be replaced and propose an alternative system. Support your argument with evidence from the readings and class materials.

Paper For Above Instructions

Your Name, POS 2041, Electoral College

Thesis and Overview

The Electoral College should be replaced by a national popular vote conducted with a runoff or ranked-choice mechanism to ensure majority support, reduce the distortion of campaign incentives, and simplify democratic accountability. While defenders argue the Electoral College protects federalism and small-state interests (Ginsberg et al., 2019; Posner, 2012), contemporary political realities and democratic norms make a direct popular system—carefully designed to maintain stability—the better institutional choice (Mahler & Eder, 2016; National Archives, n.d.).

Problems with the Current Electoral College

The Electoral College produces outcomes that can diverge from the national popular vote, as in 2000 and 2016, undermining perceived legitimacy and sparking controversy (Mahler & Eder, 2016). This mismatch weakens the norm that the candidate with the most votes should govern and contributes to public distrust (Ginsberg et al., 2019). Moreover, the system concentrates campaign attention on a handful of swing states, leaving most voters effectively ignored during presidential campaigns (Ginsberg et al., 2019; Marieta, 2020). This skew diminishes equal political voice across the electorate and invites strategic campaigning that prioritizes state-level vote-turnout dynamics over broad national appeals.

Administrative and Security Concerns

Modern elections are administered by state and local systems that increasingly rely on digital infrastructure, which raises cybersecurity risks (New York Times, 2020). Although the Electoral College itself is a constitutional method for allocating electors, the decentralization of vote counting and data transmission means vulnerabilities can affect public confidence in outcomes regardless of the allocation method (Brennan Center, 2019). A national popular vote approach does not remove these administration responsibilities from states, but it does simplify the democratic message—'the candidate with the most votes wins'—making contestation and auditing easier to communicate and potentially easier to coordinate in standards across states (Alvarez & Hall, 2004; National Academy of Sciences, 2018).

Why Replace It: Democratic Legitimacy and Equality

Replacing the Electoral College with a national popular vote better aligns presidential selection with democratic equality: each citizen’s vote would carry equal weight regardless of state residency (FairVote, 2020). This respects the principle of 'one person, one vote' more fully than the current system, where small states are overrepresented per capita in the Electoral College and where voters in non-competitive states see little presidential engagement (Ginsberg et al., 2019). The persistent possibility of a minority-plurality victory under the Electoral College can erode the perceived mandate of a president and complicate governance, especially in a polarized political environment (Mahler & Eder, 2016).

Proposed Alternative: National Popular Vote with Ranked-Choice Runoff

A robust alternative is a national popular vote determined either by (A) a direct national plurality with a legal requirement for an instant runoff (ranked-choice voting, RCV) if no candidate achieves a majority, or (B) a top-two runoff within a defined national timeframe. RCV mitigates spoilers and produces majority-supported winners without necessitating a separate, costly runoff election (FairVote, 2019). Under such a system, campaigns would have incentives to build broad coalitions across states rather than targeting narrow swing-state blocs (Alvarez & Hall, 2004; National Archives, n.d.).

Addressing Federalism and Small-State Concerns

Critics argue the Electoral College protects small-state influence. A carefully designed popular system can preserve federalism's spirit by maintaining state-run election administration and by offering institutional protections—such as requiring uniform standards for ballot security, robust auditing, and measures to ensure rural outreach (NCSL, 2020; Brennan Center, 2019). Moreover, a national campaign environment encourages candidates to address issues affecting all Americans, including those in smaller states, while eliminating the perverse incentive to ignore voters outside swing states (Ginsberg et al., 2019).

Practical Pathways and Transitional Considerations

Replacement could proceed through constitutional amendment (difficult but definitive) or via interstate compacts that pledge electoral votes to the national popular vote winner once enough states join to reach an Electoral College majority (the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact) (National Archives, n.d.; FairVote, 2020). Either path must be accompanied by coordinated improvements in election security standards, transparent post-election audits, and public education to build trust in the new system (New York Times, 2020; National Academy of Sciences, 2018).

Conclusion

Given the Electoral College's tendency to distort democratic equality, concentrate campaign power in a few states, and produce contentious results that undermine legitimacy, replacing it with a national popular vote supplemented by ranked-choice mechanisms is a principled and practical reform. This approach combines majority legitimacy, reduced spoiler effects, and incentives for national campaigning while retaining state-based administration and emphasizing stronger cybersecurity and audit standards to protect election integrity (Mahler & Eder, 2016; FairVote, 2019). For a modern democracy, aligning the presidency with the popular will—while safeguarding the mechanics of secure, transparent elections—best serves both democratic norms and stable governance.

References

• Alvarez, R. M., & Hall, T. E. (2004). Electronic Elections: The Perils and Promises of Digital Democracy. Princeton University Press.
• Brennan Center for Justice. (2019). The State of Voting: Access, Security, and Confidence. Brennan Center Publications.
• FairVote. (2019). Ranked Choice Voting: An Overview and Implementation Guide. FairVote.org.
• FairVote. (2020). National Popular Vote: How the Compact Works. FairVote.org.
• Ginsberg, B., Lowi, T. J., Weir, M., Tolbert, C. J., Spitzer, R. J., & et al. (2019). We the People (12th ed.), Chapter 7: Political Parties, Participation, and Elections. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Mahler, J., & Eder, S. (2016, November 10). The Electoral College Is Hated by Many. So Why Does It Endure? The New York Times.
• Marieta, M. (2020). Supreme Court to Decide the Future of the Electoral College. The Conversation.
• National Academy of Sciences. (2018). Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy. National Academies Press.
• National Archives. (n.d.). What Is the Electoral College? National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved from archives.gov.
• New York Times. (2020, June 7). Amid Pandemic and Upheaval, New Cyber Risks to the Presidential Election. The New York Times.