Among the countries of the entire world, the United States is unique in its complex electoral system. At first glance, the electoral scene appears confusing and complicated, and it can easily make the person with the highest votes lose! What is the future of this system in light of many democratic demands for its abolition? After the end of the US elections this year, and the major news networks announced the victory of Democratic candidate Joe Biden over Republican President Donald Trump, the major electors, who are members of the 538 Electoral College, will meet on December 14 to choose a president and vice president for the country according to the voting results in their states. Who are these members? Who chooses them? How do they vote?
Complex system
Each American state has a number of senior electors equal to the number of its representatives in Congress in its two chambers. Each state has representatives according to its population, and two representatives in the Senate. Texas, for example, has 38 senior electors, and Virginia has 13, while less populated states, such as Alaska and Delaware, have only three senior electors. Each state, following the popular vote in November, formally appoints its chief electors, who are chosen by the political party for the candidate who wins the state’s popular vote and pledge to vote for it. Most senior voters are elected or party officials, their names do not appear on ballot papers, and their identities are often unknown to voters. The Constitution gives states the freedom to decide the mechanism for selecting their senior electors. Members of the Electoral College meet in each state in December to cast official votes, which the states send to Washington to announce the official tally in January. The date of the meeting of the major electors was set by the US Constitution, which stipulates that “they shall meet and cast their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.” The winner in all states (except Maine and Nebraska) receives all of the state’s electoral votes regardless of the division of the popular vote, while the presidential candidate must obtain an absolute majority of the body’s votes, i.e. 270 or more, out of 538 votes, to win.
In favor of Republicans
History bears witness that the use of the Electoral College system has always been in the interest of the Republican Party, because they reap the majority of its votes. Therefore, it does not seem strange that repeated democratic calls to abolish its use come out every now and then, under the pretext that it is a unique system of its kind, and different from the conventional democratic systems in which citizens directly elect the president. This system, which dates back to 1787 AD, is today subject to widespread criticism demanding that it be reconsidered and that change be brought about by adopting the traditional electoral approach found in most democratic countries, which is direct popular vote by the voter. This transformation represents a dangerous turning point in the form of democracy as we know it in America, and may serve as the final nail in the coffin of the Republicans’ chances of winning the presidential seat. The results of the popular vote, which began to be documented in 1824, were mostly in favor of the Democrats. The last of these confrontations was in the 2016 elections. Clinton and Hillary led by 2,864,974 votes over Trump, despite Trump’s overwhelming victory in the electoral college. This is due to the fact that the Democrats overwhelmingly control the states with large populations, led by California.
Calls for cancellation
Today, the winds of change have blown against this historic approach and unique model in electing the head of state and his deputy. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley announced that he will introduce a bill aimed at abolishing the Electoral College as part of a package of bills to reform elections. This bill would require a constitutional amendment to replace the election of the president with a direct popular vote instead of the current “Electoral College” mechanism. If this project is successful, many of those who have relations with the United States of America must think about the impact on this relationship. Hawaii State Senator Brian Schatz also intends to submit a proposal for a constitutional amendment before Congress, aiming to abolish the Electoral College, while Reuters quoted an aide to a senator that the amendment is supported by a number of members, such as Kirsten Gillibrand, Dick Durbin, and Dianne Feinstein. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called for the abolition of the Electoral College in the US presidential elections, and wrote on his official Twitter page: “Joe Biden will win the popular vote by a margin of more than 4 million,” “The Democratic presidential candidate won the popular vote in 7 out of the last 8 elections,” “One vote, existing democracy, yes, the Electoral College must be abolished.”
