The Bowdoin Orient

November 10, 2000
Volume CXXXII, Number 9

Why it is essential to disband the Electoral College

by Edward Bair, COLUMNIST

   What a circus this election has turned into. Because of our skewed Electoral College system, the race for president has been reduced to a little over a thousand votes difference in several counties of Florida. Nationally, the race is close, but with 99 percent of precincts reporting, Gore is in the lead by almost 200,000 votes. If we were electing based on popular vote, Al Gore would have already been appointed as the next presidential nominee. The last and only time a candidate won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College was Hayes vs. Tilden in 1876.
    The controversy regarding what is happening in Florida is embarrassing and adds needless negative publicity to a presidential race that is already thought by many to be the choice between the least worst candidate. Now we may have to sit and wait another week before a winner is declared. It's wrong to have a national race centered on one state and not even the entire state at that, but rather a few counties in that state.
    In the 18th century, when the Framers of the Constitution established the Electoral College, travel was difficult and there were no national party organizations, therefore an Electoral College was needed to obtain a proper national consensus. It also prevented regional candidates from dividing the vote. Now, we no longer need a group of representatives to elect the president. The Electoral College system gives uneven sway to certain states. For instance, California's population accounts for 11 percent of the total US population, yet its 54 electoral votes account for 20 percent of the nation's electoral votes. Also, the "winner takes all" electoral system present in 48 states, makes it exceptionally difficult for a third party to win a state's electoral votes. Therefore, there is no room for the emergence of a third party, something that many people believe is needed in the American political landscape. Lastly, the Electoral College makes it possible for a candidate to win the election without the majority of the national vote as Bill Clinton did in 1992 and 1996.
    America needs a system where the president is determined by popular vote and the results of the vote are not released until a winner is declared. We do have the means to quickly and efficiently tabulate votes in a secure manner. Networks like CNN and FOX only create mayhem in the voting process by prematurely declaring winners with as little as 60 percent of the voting stations reporting results. These results can influence voters on the West Coast who have not yet cast their ballots. From the proceedings of Tuesday night, we know that their results are wrong many times.
    The United States is constantly criticizing other nations like China for their election processes, but how can we take a stance on other nations elections when we can barely manage our own. Our national integrity is at stake. Other nations are questioning American democracy's legitimacy. One British tabloid ran the headline, "Forest Chumps" with a picture of Al Gore and George W. Bush sitting on a park bench. Above the headline it reads, "US Humiliated in Presidential Shambles."
    After this fiasco, whoever emerges as the winner is not going to have a mandate to do much of anything. What kind of power is a president going to have who has been elected possibly by accident? What about a president who is elected by court order? This race has been characterized by apathy among the voting public and party disassociation. I only hope that we can end this quarrel swiftly.