Well we have finally survived election season and we have a new President of the United States. Americans voted and decided that Donald Trump was the answer to all America's problems. But did America really vote that way? Nope, the answer is a big ole NO!
During this election the majority of Americans voted for Hillary Clinton to be the next President of the United States. But is this what's actually happening? No, because the electoral college somehow worked its way to decide that Donald Trump is our next President. Confused by this? Me and the rest of liberal Americans are too, don't worry.
We live in a 'democracy' where one person doesn't match up to one vote. Our democracy, only when electing a new President, relies on the electoral college to pick the winner. Summed up when Americans vote in the Presidential election instead of voting for candidates, they are essentially voting for electors in the Electoral College. The number of Electorates for a state are determined by the number of representatives for that state while also taking into account the respective population. Meaning big states like California and Texas lead the way with the most electorates at 55 and 34 respectively. While small districts/states like Washington D.C. and Vermont have 3 electoral votes a piece. Electoral votes are why swing states matter so much. The state can be 50/50 down the line on liberals versus conservatives, but if it tips just enough to like 49/51 in favor of conservatives, the conservative candidate gets all the electoral votes for that state leaving the liberal in this case high and dry. Does that system seem a bit wonky to you? Yes cause it certainly does to me.
It certainly seems crazy to me that in this past election the candidate who won the popular vote in America is not going to be our President for the next four years. YES you heard that right, she will NOT be our President for the next four years because of the electoral college. It is also crazy to me that in 2 of the last five Presidential elections and 5 times total in history the candidate who won the popular vote didn't necessarily win the election because of the Electoral College.
America is the only modern democracy in the world who elects their highest political office this way. Shouldn't that be a signal that this process is archaic and needs to be updated. No other political office in the United States is chosen this way, so why is the President? Shouldn't the fact the candidate who wins the popular majority vote doesn't end up the President alarm you? It has happened twice now just in the 21st century. Not once, but TWICE. That's two more times than anyone would like to see. The Electoral college is a poor representative of the people's will and instead is just another political game, that affects not just America but honestly the whole world.
So yes I respect that this is a piece of the Constitution, that has been in place since the Founding Fathers, but the Electoral College system needs an update. We need to change our system to reflect the true will of the people and actually put in office the candidates that we the majority of the American population elect. Please stop electing Presidents in this dated method and instead, looking at you American Government, stand by what you preach that, "Your Vote Counts". Because right now the way I see it as a blue voter in a red dominated state is that no matter what, my vote won't count as long as the electorate base for my state continues to vote red.
