Electoral System in US Elections

The US electoral system is one that seems to baffle many Americans as well as those abroad. The system is one that is unique to the United States, but it is not as complicated as many believe. It is a system that strives to represent the will of the American people by having "electors" cast votes on behalf of the voters. While some believe this sytem to be outdated, electoral college proponents believe this the only fair way to speak for the citizens of the United States.

History of the Electoral College

According to the12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the President is not elected by popular vote but by state selected electorates. The electoral college system dates back to 1804 as a compromise by the founding fathers between a popular vote and election by the Congress. There are 538 electorates: each state receives one for each member to the U.S. House of Representatives the state has, plus two (the number of US Senators in each state). In order to win the office of President, the candidate must garner at least 270 of these votes. The electors are selected at the state level to reward a person for dedication and service to their party. Being an elector, however, does not compel one to vote with their party, in fact, any elector can vote for whomever they wish. However, it is highly uncommon for this to occur. To date, there have been 51 Presidential elections held since the 12th Amendment was adopted. In that time, only 156 electors changed their vote (called “faithless electors”); that is 156 out of the more than 25,000 electors over that same time period.

The Significance of Individual Votes

As evidenced by the 2000 elections, the popular vote would seem to have little to no impact on the final decision. It does however have a large significance in US Presidential elections. The first stage is the nominating process. Voters go to the polls for the primaries and from those results, delegates are subsequently chosen. These delegates then go on to their respective conventions to nominate a party candidate. When it comes time for the general election, the popular vote also plays a major role in deciding who becomes president.

How Electoral Votes Are Determined

The popular vote in any given state determines which candidate gets the electors. Forty-eight out of the fifty states determine electorates on a “winner-take-all” basis. Therefore, if candidate X wins the popular vote in a given state, all of the electoral votes are given to that candidates party. As we recall from the 2000 elections, Al Gore won the popular vote but not the electoral vote and hence lost the election. This is possible because each state has a different number of electorates.

The Electoral College in Present Day Elections

Some argue that the electoral system is antiquated and unfair in a present day elections, especially given the results of the 2000 election. It would take a Constitutional Amendment to abolish the electoral college, but there hasn’t been much interest in that since the 1970s when a proposal was shot down in the Senate. It is also argued, especially for advocates of states with smaller populations, that this is the only way to fairly represent the will of the people. Whether or not it is ever reformed, the system is in place for now and it is important to understand so that, as voters, Americans know how their votes matter.

For more information on the electoral college, visit the National Archives and Records Administration .

A woman going to vote

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