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How The Electoral College Destroyed America's Democracy

And here's how it can be restored.

Crystal Curry
Nov 21, 2016
University of Louisiana at Monroe
206
How The Electoral College Destroyed America's Democracy
The All-Nite Images via Consortium News

Donald Trump won the presidential election, but Hillary Clinton received over a million more votes. In fact, it looks like Hillary Clinton earned more votes than any other president except Barack Obama. A system rooted in slavery continues to silence the voices of many Americans. Some argue that doing away with the electoral college system would take away the voices of metropolitan area; others defend that it would accurately portray rural voices. However, states like California are not accurately represented by the electoral college; for example, if California had the number of electors that Wyoming had based on population alone, California would have 200. Instead, the states with the most electoral power are the lower population, more conservative ones.

In a direct democracy, popular vote would be the law of the land. America is not a democracy though; it is a republic. States like Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania chose the president elect. In safe states like Louisiana and Idaho, casting a vote is considered a waste. These states lean so far right that it doesn't matter if Clinton managed to rack up 30% of votes. The same would hold true for blue states.


Mark Newman, a professor at the University of Michigan, made a cartogram to represent popular vote at the county level.

On December 19, 538 electoral college members will meet to cast their votes for the next president of the United States. These are the people who Americans voted to represent them in the presidential election.

Electoral voters could choose to vote for their party's nominee, another party entirely, or abstain from voting. Hillary does not have to receive Republican electoral votes to have one last battle with Trump that would be decided by the House of Representatives. Twenty-nine states legally bind electors to vote for their party's candidate. Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia do not attempt to bind electors. Additionally, there are states that attempt to bind electors to vote faithfully, although they are not required to do so by federal law. This means electors from these states could potentially cast an unfaithful vote or abstain entirely.

Trump beat Hillary 306 to 232. This means 37 votes would need to be taken away from Trump for a Trump presidency not to occur. It's a popular idea gaining traction with stars like Lady Gaga. Petitions are going around on MoveOn.org and Change.org to abolish the elector college and consider popular vote instead.

How likely is it exactly? Let's take a look at the people who will be making that decision. There have been 157 "faithless electors" in the history of the United States. Sure, it is a long shot, but so was the entire election. For the purpose of this article, we will look solely at the states that do not attempt to bind electors. Keep in mind that there are democrat electors who may choose to not vote faithfully as well. Some email addresses are listed below, but if you feel so inclined, you can ask the electors here. Operation Phoenix, Flip the 37, and this thread are great places to find out more about electors.

Here is a look into the electors of states that do not attempt to bind electors.

Arizona - 11

Verdict for Arizona: 7/11 will likely vote for Trump. Begay remains uncertain, although it seems plausible that Begay will cast his vote for Trump as well. For the remaining 3/11, there was not enough information available to make a prediction. Even Jane Lynch, who opposes Trump, said she would vote faithfully. Oddly, the only elector that hails from a Democrat-won county is Bruce Ash.

Arkansas - 6

Verdict for Arkansas: While 3/6 showed support for Trump, all six electoral members hail from Republican-won counties. Any of the six going against popular vote seems unlikely.

Georgia - 16

Verdict for Georgia: I am alarmed by Padgett's crimes, and even more so that she is representing part of this country on December 19. No doubt, strong Trump support exists in this state, although Trump only won by 4%. Find out more about some of the electors here.

Idaho - 4

  • Melinda Smyser - Trump support stated.
  • Caleb Lakey
  • Layne Bangerter- Trump vote is highly likely since Bangerter ran Trump's state campaign.
  • Jennifer Locke - Trump support expressed.

Verdict for Idaho: 3/4 are definite Trump votes. Lakey's region was dominated with Trump support, it is plausible he will stick with popular vote.

Indiana - 11

Verdict for Indiana: Since this is Pence's stomping grounds, it is reasonable to assume a Trump/Pence vote is almost a guarantee. Although Manning expressed distaste for Trump, he indicated he would vote for Trump out of faith to his party.

Iowa - 6

  • Don Kass
  • Dylan Keller
  • Alan Braun
  • Kurt Brown
  • Polly Granzow
  • James Whitmer

Verdict for Iowa: Electors, though dissatisfied, will likely vote for their party's nominee. For Braun, it seems his reasoning for voting faithfully is because he does not want to be known as a faithless elector. Keller claims his vote is not for Trump but instead for the Republican party's wishes.

Kansas - 6

Verdict for Kansas: Kansas is not likely to stray from its strong conservative stance.

Kentucky - 8

Verdict for Kentucky Overwhelmingly red, it would be shocking if electors voted against the state.

Louisiana - 8

Verdict for Louisiana: Trump support is indicated by Louisiana Republican State Central Committee Meeting for all electors. It is highly probable that 8/8 will faithfully vote Trump.

Missouri - 10


  • Tim Dreste - Known as the anti-abortion radical, Dreste has unsurprusingly expressed support for Trump.
  • Jan DeWeese
  • Hector Maldonado - Maldonado's expressed disdain for the Democratic party may mean a guaranteed Trump vote.
  • Sherry Kuttenkuler - A pro-Trump Facebook post in response to Republicans urging Trump to drop out of the race is indicative of strong Trump support.
  • Casey Crawford - An interesting paper about voter competence that suggests Crawford could be swayed, if this is the same Casey Crawford. The Crawford who wrote the paper attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. The Crawford who is named on the list of electors serves the 5th congressional district, and Kansas City would be a part of that district.
  • Tom Brown
  • Cherry Warren
  • Scott Clark
  • Al Rotskoff
  • Susie Johnson
Verdict for Missouri: There was not enough information for 6/10 electors. If that Casey Crawford is the same one as the elector, there may be a possibility for a faithless vote. The remaining 3/10 will most likely vote for Trump. Since Trump received the vast majority of votes in this state, it is reasonable to conclude most, if not all, of these voters would vote faithfully.

North Dakota - 3

Verdict for North Dakota: With Olson's comments and 7:3 Trump victory, it is unlikely any of the electors will fail to vote for the president-elect.

Pennsylvania - 20

Verdict for Pennsylvania: Perhaps the biggest loss for Hillary with a vote of 49% to 48% electing Trump, Pennsylvania may have a higher chance of faithless voters than other states. Even Khare, who does not necessarily support Trump, will likely cast a vote for Trump to be faithful to the Republican party.

South Dakota - 3

Verdict for South Dakota: 3/3 will vote Trump, although perhaps Michels and Daungaard could be swayed--at least to abstain.

Texas - 38


Final verdict for Texas: Electors hailing from Democrat-won areas, like Houston and Dallas, may be convinced not to vote Trump or abstain altogether. Such electors include Thomas Moon, Will Hickman, and Marjorie Forster. Many Texan electors supported Cruz in the beginning, and it seems as though Cruz supporters turned into loyal Trump supporters. Therefore, it is unlikely, but not completely improbably, that any Texans would vote against their party's nominee or abstain.


West Virginia - 5


  • Ron Foster
  • Patrick Morrissey - Morrissey's Twitter does not specifically give praise to Trump, but it is likely he will vote with his state.
  • Ann Urling - Urling's Twitter does not specifically give mention to Trump, either.
  • Mac Warner - Keeping the pattern, Warner never specifically mentions the president elect.
Verdict for West Virginia: Overwhelmingly red, it would be shocking if electors voted against the state. However, a lack of obvious Trump support could spell a faithless elector.
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