By Bunni Pounds

Over the last decade there has been heightened debate about the importance of the Electoral College. Because of increasingly close elections and several elections in recent memory where the popular vote winner did not win the Electoral college - some on the left have lamented this system of checks and balances that the founders set up.

Just because Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and lost the election to Donald Trump in 2016 - does that make the electoral college unjust?

What about the historical election of George W. Bush over Al Gore in 2000 - where again Al Gore won the popular vote but eventually lost the election – was that election outcome wrong?

Was Florida really the deciding factor that sent Bush into victory? 

Or more clearly was it that Bush built a strong coalition and flipped a traditional blue state like West Virginia to clinch the victory and Florida just happened to be the last state counted because of the recount?

I would argue that it is the latter.

The important reasons why the Founding Fathers established the Electoral College should not be overlooked, just because we have a lack of understanding concerning the system as Americans. 

Ignorance on an issue does not mean abolish it, but so many times our lack of education colors our viewpoints.

So - what does Electoral College actually do to protect our constitutional republic?

Why is it a better system than a straight majority vote?

First - we have to understand the concern of our Founders as they deliberated day after day concerning the founding of our nation. They were strongly aware of how power can corrupt leaders and any system of government. Therefore, they set up our national framework with three branches of government - executive, legislative, and judicial. They wanted to avoid at all costs or at any time in our future - a majority mob take over. They desired to protect the voice and the influence of the minority in our democratic system. 

Protecting self-governance from the potential of majority tyranny was one of the highest deliberations of the founders. Thus, the Electoral College was formed. 

“We the people” of America vote not for a specific candidate - though their name is on our ballot, but we vote for a slate of electors that represent our state’s collective voice by voting for the candidate of our choice. This keeps each state an individual powerhouse and protects the little states from the big states as well as putting in many more protections that we will go over below.

For example, as a voter in Congressional district TX-05 in 2020 - I voted not for Donald Trump or Joe Biden, but I was voting for a Republican elector named Jimmy Weaver from my district.  

November 3rd was an important day for all Americans because they cast their ballots, but the real election happened on December 14th when the electors cast their ballots. 

How does the Electoral College protect all Americans and our way of life? 

Forces Candidates to Build Coalitions 

In every Presidential election (really in every election) we must choose between imperfect candidates. These decisions are not easy. You can read my article on that topic - on how to think through those hard decisions.

The Electoral College forces the presidential candidates to pursue every state and build broad coalitions that encompass not only the extremes of the political parties on the right or the left, but the middle positions as well. The issues that voters care about in Iowa are not the same as in Michigan, Georgia, and New Mexico and national issues that are the most important to voters are always evolving, as well. That is why we have polling – so that candidates can figure out what those issues are.

Political parties change, their platforms are always being tweaked by the grassroots, and even swing states change from election to election. What might look like a solid blue state like Texas before 1998 is now a solid red state. California used to vote Republican - remember California gave us Governor and then President Ronald Reagan? Now they vote overwhelmingly for Democrats statewide. Any state can be flipped by any candidate or political party at any time if their message resonates with their broad audience.

If we did not have the Electoral College and New Mexico’s or Arizona’s electoral votes didn’t matter to the grand scheme of things, then candidates would just visit the huge population centers and only talk about the issues that they thought those voters cared about.

With our Electoral College system- candidates must message around a host of issues and communicate to a diverse audience because every state matters.

Protects the Rural from the Urban Cities

With a popular vote - majority rule system urban cities would be the power hubs in our nation and the rural smaller communities would be an afterthought. If we want Portland and New York values to rule our nation -then please get rid of the Electoral College!  But if we want the “fly over” states to have a voice then this system is extremely important to preserve.

For many people on the left – it is an antiquated system that needs a constitutional amendment to abolish – but Americans from all sides should see the value in this system that has stood the test of time. 

The worst thing a society could do is to abolish something just because one party thinks it will benefit them. That is not a good way to make decisions or govern. It does not make the system “racist” and calling it such will not change why the system was put in place from the beginning. 

The founders of America were concerned about large states having more power than small states which is why they established equal representation in the Senate for every state and also gave them power in the Electoral College.

I appreciate that every Presidential campaign starts with states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina and that the candidates in both parties must talk to rural farmers in a small community in Iowa and then go to a libertarian community in New Hampshire and then travel down to the deep south for some “family values” in South Carolina. This system unifies all Americans and gives everyone a voice to communicate to the candidates for the highest office in the land the issues that they care about in their regions.

Without it- Presidential candidates would spend their time and messaging only talking to the urban areas and what they think they want to hear. The Electoral College creates more centrist candidates and keeps the two major parties from running nationally on more extreme positions.  

Just like the balance of power in the House of Representatives and the Senate slows down legislation - so the Electoral College causes everything to slow down so more people can impact their government.

Protects against Voter Fraud and Abuse of Power

Can you imagine a world where a handful of states are deciding Presidential elections? 

Where Chicago and New York are hotbeds for fraud and ballot harvesting and the rest of the country looks on in unbelief?  

It is not an unheard-of scenario. Concentration of power and the abuse of that power was what the founders were so concerned about. 

Immoral people who lie and cheat will always exist. The importance of maintaining the integrity of our voting systems can not be overstated. This is another reason that the Electoral College is important to maintain. 

The founders wanted to make sure it was not easy for a national election to be corrupted. Voter fraud has always existed in our history, but the question is – does our checks and balances like the EC protect the American people and our system of government? Does it protect us from fraud?

To actually steal an election with the Electoral College in place – the election would need to be close enough that cheating in only one or two states could swing the state and change the outcome of the election. The margins in those states would have to be extremely small. For example, in 2000 – fraud in Florida could have changed the results of the election. Thankfully, corrupt people did not think the margins would be that close there – as it was only a 537-vote victory out of 6 million votes cast for President Bush. 

The Founders Gave Us a System to Protect Liberty

Every freedom loving American who wants liberty to reign, who wants every voter to be valued, and who understands the importance of power to keep checked should appreciate and support the Electoral College system. The Founders of America gave us a gift to force our Presidential candidates to talk about multiple issues around the country and build coalitions, to protect the rural and small communities from the urban population centers having all the power and influence, and to protect our system of government from abuse of power and voter fraud.

We should be thanking God every day for Alexander Hamilton who argued in Federalist No. 1 that the Electoral College protects the country from electing someone “ill-equipped for the office” or a “tyrant”. James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 10 that he supported it to protect against an “overbearing majority” and the threat of factions on our fragile republic. 

As we know in our current time - people get indoctrinated with bad ideas and societal fads, so we must stand up against those notions. The Electoral College protects every vote – not disenfranchises it. 

As Americans, we must get educated and be ready to defend this tenant of our Constitution for generations to come.

To gain understanding and education on the Electoral College, please grab “Why We Need the Electoral College” by Tara Ross – one of the leading national experts on the topic. 

You can check out my recent interview with Tara here for our Christians Engaged Book Club selection in July and check out her Prager U video on the topic that has over 66 million views.

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