No Democracy for You! The Electoral College

While American troops fight overseas in an effort to "spread democracy," one must wonder if they should try to spread democracy in their own country. A brief comparison of institutions and voting systems will show that the United States is one of the least democratic nations in the first world. The existence of the Electoral College is a prodigious hindrance to achieving a truly democratic society. The College is an outdated system stemming from a compromise with founding members of the country who were wary of the public opinion. This hesitancy is somewhat justified, because in the early years of the United States, many people could not even read the names on a ballot. However, now that primary education is funded by the government and a majority of citizens in the U.S. are literate--not to mention well-informed through the barrage of 24-hour news cycles--they should be able to voice their own opinions without the oppressive filter of an "elite" group of Electors. A New York Times editorial called for the abolishment of the Electoral College a few months before the national election in 2004 (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/29/opinion/29sun1.html ex=1251518400&en=c1260e15603e989e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt), but debate over the issue fizzled out once people realized that the Electoral College did not play such a horrible role in the 2004 presidential election as it had in 2000. It is natural to question archaic systems if they negatively impact democracy, but it is tragic that many people were unaware of the Electoral College before the chaos of the 2000 election. Citizens must call for the abolishment of the Electoral College as soon as possible and not silence their cries for action in a time of relative order; it is imperative to end this institution before it changes American history again, not after the election results are in.

The effects of the Electoral College can be seen even when the winner of the popular vote becomes president. Many people, such as those living in Upstate New York, feel as though their votes in national elections do not matter. They will always be outnumbered by the Liberal voters in the New York City area, even though Upstate is crucial in providing food and other resources to the entire state. If every vote mattered, these people in Upstate would have an incentive to actively seek information about candidates and engage in the political scene instead of passively and helplessly letting others decide their future. Also, the abolishment of the Electoral College would encourage candidates to campaign equally in every state, because every vote matters, instead of only in those states with a large number of Electors. We are not democratic, and we cannot claim to be so until the Electoral College is abolished.