The People’s Party and the Electoral College

The People’s Party, also known as the Populist Party, of the late 19^th Century had a great many ideas on the future of America, some of which were later adopted by the American government. One of the more interesting goals of the People’s Party was the abolishment of the electoral college. When the People’s Party announced their platform in 1896, one of the goals was for the “Direct election of (the) President and Senators by the People.” The stated goal of the People’s Party was that: “we demand the election of President, Vice-President, and United States Senators by a direct vote of the people…” The election of Senators by the people of the state they belong to was ratified as the 17^th Amendment in 1913. Before 1913 it was legal for state legislatures to choose their state’s senator and not the people. The choosing of U.S. Senators by popular vote was one of the successes the People’s Party had in their goals.

However, the goal of the People’s Party to abolish the Electoral College failed. As it is the popular vote does not decide Presidential Elections. Instead the people’s vote is tallied according to the state they reside in and a state chooses a certain number of electors to vote for the President based on the number of senators and representatives each state has. Some states such as Delaware choose to split their electors based on how each side faired in their election, but for the most the Electoral College is a winner-take-all system. This means that if the Presidential candidate has a majority of the vote in a state, they get all of the state’s electors, effectively nullifying the viability of the minority vote in each state.

Gore won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote

One of the most recent examples of the Electoral College’s problems was the 2000 Presidential Election in which candidate Al Gore won the popular vote but lost to George W. Bush in terms of the Electoral College.

The Electoral College Map for the 2000 Presidential Election.

I personally believe that the Electoral College should be abolished. The Electoral College was originally set up by the Founding Fathers in order to take power away from the people, since they viewed them as untrustworthy. The Electoral College is itself undemocratic in my eyes. This is mainly due to the fact that a candidate can win more popular votes than an opposing candidate; yet still lose the election.

Another problem of the Electoral College is the fact that it nullifies the validity of the minority vote in a state, since most states use a winner-take-all rule for electors. In traditionally conservative or liberal states voters find it discouraging to vote for a presidential candidate when they know their vote will essentially be useless thanks to the winner-take-all system. If the Electoral College was repealed and a popular vote instituted it would encourage voters in traditionally democratic or republican states to vote for their preferred candidate, without the sense that their vote did not matter. 

The Electoral College is an archaic, outmoded method of electing the President of the United States and is undemocratic at its core, taking away power from the people and placing it in the hands of a few select electors. 

For more reading on the problems of the Electoral College this site and this site have interesting information.