The Electoral College was a "safety valve" measure put into the US Constitution by America's Founding Fathers to prevent a lunatic from being made president.
So much for that idea.
What most don't understand is that because of the Electoral College, when we vote for a president, we don't actually vote for a president. Instead, we are voting for representatives who will vote for a president. Each state gets as many Electoral votes as they have US Congressional representatives, or, how many US Senators and Representatives they have. This means that, in effect, only 270 people (the simple majority of the 538 Electors) decide who will be President of the United States of America, or POTUS.
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Although it can differ from state to state, usually Electors are chosen down party lines. Meaning that if you vote for the Democratic presidential candidate, you are voting for the Electors the Democratic party has chosen to cast a vote for their candidate. If you vote for the Republican, then you are voting for the Republican Electors. Most states are "winner takes all", which means if 50.1% of the vote goes to the Republican candidate then all of the state's Electors will be from the Republican party and, presumably, all of them will vote for the Republican presidential candidate. Only a few states split the electors based on the percentages of votes that went to each party.
But in any case, once the Electors go to Washington DC to cast their votes, they can vote for whomever they chose, despite pledging to vote in accordance with their state's actual vote. Most states, if any, wouldn't even consider a crime if an Elector voted against who their state's voters had voted for.
This is why I say the US Electoral College is Evil.
The Electoral College is a relic of a time when black people were considered 3/5 of a person, slavery was legal, women could not vote nor could white men, unless they owned land…all according to the US Constitution. Times and minds have changed these evil things, and we should do the same with Electoral College.
Unfortunately, since it's part of the Constitution, it would take an Amendment to the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College…which is a horrendous undertaking. Take for example the last Amendment ratified, the 27th Amendment. Although ratified in 1992, it was originally introduced to Congress in 1789 by James Maddison, the 4th POTUS! If we have to wait that long, what's the point?
But there is another route. Something called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is gaining traction wherein states who join the pact pledge to give their votes according to the actual, nationwide popular vote. Although not a repeal of the Electoral College, it is a more attainable fix to our broken presidential election system.
Hopefully, if enough states agree to join this pact, we can get closer to Lincoln's promise of a "government of the people, by the people, for the people".
For more information, check out: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/08/a-national-popular-vote-just-got-one-step-closer-to-reality/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bc505a96cab0
(image source: Getty Images)