Should Electoral College Be Abolished Research Paper

“Not my president.”

Two days after Donald Trump won the Presidential Election, this cry could be heard across the country. Why should I accept Donald Trump as my President when I didn’t vote for him? In the words of Senator Barbara Boxer, “The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately.” However, contrary to the negative feelings of several people, is the Electoral College actually an outdated, undemocratic system? Currently, there is a bill in Congress calling for the abolition of the Electoral College in favor of a National Popular vote. However, I believe that the Electoral College should not be abolished in favor of a National Popular vote.

To begin with, the idea is unrealistic as it would require a change to the Constitution; something which hasn’t been done since 1992. In order to abolish the Electoral College, we would have to repeal the 12th amendment which establishes the Electoral College. Moreover, this would require two-thirds a majority vote from both the House of

The Electoral College establishes two main parties, but under a National Popular vote there is no limit to the amount of parties will emerge. This could result in a person winning the election, even though they only received twenty percent of the popular vote. Perhaps we do need more than a two-party system, however, an unlimited party system like the one the National Popular vote allows for, will result in unfair elections.

Likewise, there will likely be many recounts in any given election. With the problem of voter fraud likely increasing under a National Popular vote, recounts will be necessary and the validity of a selected President will always be questioned. “A dispute over the outcome of an Electoral College vote is possible—it happened in 2000—but it’s less likely than a dispute over the popular vote (Posner, Richard