Did you vote for Bush or Gore? Although this election was a long time ago, it has brought heat to the Electoral College. People started to notice several things wrong with the Electoral College and there have been many studies against it. However, what they fail to realize is the Founders intention and layout of the Electoral College, and how it is the best system. There are lists of benefits of the Electoral College, but there are three that will be highlighted; the Electoral College makes states count, creates incentives for candidates, and preserves the Republic the Founders created.

As hard as it is to believe the Electoral College makes states count, and not just some of them, but all of them. A lot of people would argue that the Electoral College favors small states because they have more voting power per person. Take for example Wyoming, they have four times more voting power per person compared to a bigger state such as Texas or California. A lot of people would say this is not fair because it is unequal and that Wyoming has a bigger lot in the elections. However, this is simply not true. Even with the more electoral power per person, Wyoming still has less power than Texas or California. California and Texas have a way bugger proportion in the electoral arena than Wyoming does. When the Founders created the Electoral College and election law, they were very careful to not give one state too much power. They decided to give more Electoral Votes to smaller states, because they did not want them to fly under the radar, and their voices go further marginalized than they already do. With this system it makes all states count, and gives incentive to candidates.

The Electoral College creates incentive for candidates to create a national campaign rather than a regional one. Most would argue that with the Electoral College candidates only visit swing states. The first point to be made is that there will be swing states no matter the type of system and they will always get attention. However, with the winner-take-all system candidates have more incentive to go to all states and advocate themselves. Consider this quote from George F. Will, “Choosing presidents by electoral votes is an incentive for candidates to wage truly national campaigns, building majorities that are geographically as well as ideologically broad. Consider: Were it not for electoral votes allocated winner-take-all, would candidates campaign in, say, West Virginia? In 1966 Bill Clinton decisively defeated Bob Dole there 52 percent to 37 percent. But that involved a margin of just 93,866 votes, a trivial amount compared to what can be harvested in large cities. However, for a 5-0 electoral vote sweep, West Virginia is worth a trip or two”. Without the Electoral College candidates would not have incentive to visit smaller areas, and states like West Virginia and Wyoming would be taken out of the election process.

Why the Electoral College? So many think that this system cannot be intended because of how undemocratic it is, and of course America is purely democratic. Although America has carried democratic ideals, it is not a pure democracy. In fact, the Founders wanted to create a Republic for several sound reasons. People are tyrannical. The Founders did not want to leave the nation’s fate up to the people, rather they wanted a group of individuals to head and guide our nation. However, they knew that government could become oppressive, hence the many checks and balances the government has.

A quote from Randall G. Holcombe says, “This metamorphosis of the Electoral College mirrors changes that have occurred more generally in American government during its first two centuries. At its founding, American citizens believed that their government was created to protect their liberty, and the government was designed to be limited in scope. The Constitution was written to protect the rights of individuals and limit the powers of government. In other words, it was intended to preserve liberty. Not only did the Founders not intend for public policy to be determined democratically, they actively tried to design their new government to prevent public policy from being directed by the demands of its citizens. They recognized that liberty could be compromised by democracy, and that the will of the majority had the potential to be just as tyrannical as a king or dictator”.

From past times it is clear that both people and the ones who make up the government can both become dictatorial, and the Electoral College is a check on the people as well as the government. The people cannot vote for whoever they want, but rather the Electors who vote for them. This limits the power given both to the people and to the government and protects the liberty of all.

Even with the continually negative outlook that the Electoral College has been receiving, it is more than evident that it preserves what our nation stands for. It makes both small and large states count, by giving more electoral votes to smaller states. It creates incentive for candidates to appeal to the entire nation not just the big states. Lastly, it frames what the Founders intended, a democratic republic that incorporates both democratic ideals, but checks and balances on both the government and the people.