The American Electoral System

 

The current electoral system of the United States is one that is disproportionately favorable to the Republican Party. This is mainly because of the manner through which the system is one that essentially favors smaller states over larger ones with higher population numbers (West 2019). This is to such an extent that despite the Democratic candidates winning the popular vote in most elections, they do not often win the Electoral College vote because of the considerably lower votes that they get from the states that they win. It is pertinent to consider the manner through which the electoral system has essentially come to be rigged in favor of the Republicans over the Democrats over the years.

The original intention of the Electoral College was to ensure that smaller states were given an equal voice when it came to the selection of the president. This process is one that allowed them to ensure that they were not only able to advance their interests at par with larger states, but also allowed them to maintain a level of security for themselves within the Union through the maintenance of a balanced electoral system. However, the situation that was prevalent following the establishment of the United States has changed considerably and rather than promoting the interests of the majority of the population, the Electoral College has ended up essentially favoring one party, mainly the Republicans (Jacobson 2007).

The prevalent scenario is that it has created an environment within which even though a majority of the population may have voted for a certain candidate, he might not win the Electoral College vote (Schaller 2015). This scenario is one that has come to favor Republican candidates, as seen in the election of Donald Trump in 2016. The demographic changes in the country has seen more liberal individuals, who are mostly Democratic-leaning, being concentrated in cities and other urban areas while the more conservative, Republican-leaning individuals, who are actually a minority in the country, have become more powerful because of the considerable dominance of the party in mostly rural states.

There is the need to ensure that there is the institution of changes within the electoral system of the United States. This is to such an extent that it will allow for the establishment of a more proportional form of representation in a manner that ensures that presidents are voted for based on the popular vote. It is also necessary to consider the need to ensure the abolishment of the Electoral College, which has become a major hindrance to the effective attainment of the goal of a fair electoral system through not considering the demographic and social changes that have become prevalent in society.