The Electoral College is an Essential Constitutional Tool

Voting problems in one State do not affect any other State's Votes. A National Popular Vote scheme makes a voting problem in one State impact every other State.

PENNSYLVANIA

To the Editor,  Observer-Reporter

Re:  Replying to Middle Schoolers' Concerns
 
Editor,
​
Congratulations to Evan Klick for giving attention to a foundational part of America’s election infrastructure, the Electoral College, that Klick correctly says, “has been effective since it was instituted by the Founding Fathers.”

Every State is Equally Sovereign 
As to its effectiveness, let’s look at what the Constitution--Article II and Amendment 12—calls for the Electoral College to do.
 
First, the Electoral College helps to enact both the equal state representation in the US Senate (because every state is equally sovereign), and Congress’ representation of a diverse population. This is among the checks and balances that have sustained our Constitution since its inception. Every state ratified the Constitution when they joined the Union. 
 
Second, the Electoral College places the presidential election in all 50 STATES. We don’t have national elections or a peoples’ president. POTUS stands for “President of the United STATES.” As the CEO of the American federation, the President represents the states in matters like: trade deals and treaties, defense and warfare, border integrity, and running the Executive Branch. No other office crosses borders and speaks for the whole. The presidential election process reflects this. 
 
It's Part of the Checks and Balances
Remember, every state conducts two popular votes for president—the primary and general elections. Arguments about smaller states having outsized influence overlook the fact that larger states have greater influence in the House of Representatives, where all budget bills originate and which must pass every bill before it gets to the President’s desk. More checks and balances in the big picture. 
 
States are where we live. If asked ‘where we’re from,’ people are more likely to give the name of their home state. If your house is on fire, or the roads need repair, or you think your schools are failing, you don’t call Washington DC. Citizens of a state directly elect every lawmaker who serves their state exclusively. 
 
Don't Like 'Winner-Take-All'?  Change it in your State Legislature, not the Electoral College!
Third, I share Klick’s dislike of winner-take-all vote tallies. But that choice originates in state legislatures, not the Electoral College. Two states, Maine and Nebraska, allocate electoral votes by congressional district. I wish more state legislatures would make this choice. 

Fourth, as for those swing states, there have been 11 different swing states since 2000. And the effects of significant migration showed in the last national census. Some large states lost congressional districts and smaller states gained them. 
 
Fifth, arguments about who won or lost the popular vote always head down a rabbit hole. It's just not the game that's being played, or has ever been played. And every presidential candidate knows this. Did you know, in 1996 Bill Clinton got a smaller percentage of the popular vote (43%) than Donald Trump did in 2015 (46%)?  The Electoral College delivered both men to the Oval Office. (Source: Wikipedia)

The bi-partisan list of presidents who were elected with less than a majority of the popular vote includes, but is not limites to:  Lincoln (1860), Hayes (1876), Garfield (1880), Cleveland (1884, 1892), Wilson (1912, 1916) Truman (1948), kennedy (1960), Bixon (1068), Clinton (992, 1996), George W Bush (2000), and Trump (2016).  "Share of Electoral College and Popular Votes from each winning candidate, in all United States oresidential elections, 1789 - 2020". (Source Statista,com) 

Protecting States from Voting Problems in Other States
Finally, the Electoral College safeguards the presidential vote count in every state against vote irregularities in any other state. Recall the 2020 election controversies in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Thanks to the Electoral College, the 20 states that border the ones in question were unaffected by the disagreements. 
 
I know this is a lot of information. I hope it is helpful to Evan and his Trinity Middle School classmates, and might prompt them to reconsider the Electoral College’s role as an essential constitutional tool. 
 

Roberta Schlechter
NW Region Director, 
Volunteer for Michigan-based KEEP OUR 50 STATES
Portland, OR

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