Some Arguments in the Electoral College's Favor

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the primary administrator of propaganda in favor of the electoral college. Here are some of their arguments in favor of maintaining the electoral college:

• It requires that a sufficient number of people are in favor of a given candidate. Because a candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes to become President, there is no way that a candidate can win without a significant voter base.
  
  But, despite its theoretical appeal, the evidence of history leans against this argument. 15 times in the electoral college's relatively short life, a President has been elected without a majority of popular support (see some examples).



• It guarantees a geographically diverse population supporting the President. Since the electoral college operates on a state-by-state basis, the majority of a multitude of states must support the President. The theory is that no region of the country should dominate the election.
  
  This does not seem a particularly effective means for preventing regional domination. Luckily, the U.S. Constitution prohibits the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate from living in the same state, for the very purpose of insuring that no state dominates. In addition, a system under which a majority is required would, almost by definition, better represent the entire country .



• The electoral college promotes national cohesion by preserving our conventional two-party system. The FEC agrees that the electoral college provides an additional hurdle, to say the least, for third party candidates. The two-party system prevents major divergence on national issues and maintains a degree of political moderation.
  
  While it is true that the electoral college does a spectacular job of preserving America's two-party system, it is debatable as to whether that is good or bad. Although political moderation has its advantages, it seems somewhat undemocratic to structurally oppose additional parties from truly competing in national elections. The voter base cannot be truly represented with only two political parties.