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Debating the Electoral College

A roundup of the best arguments for and against America’s unique system for electing a president. Plus, a look at possible alternatives.

Alex Dalenberg

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

This is the second part in Pocket’s guide to the Electoral College. For articles about how the system works and its history, see Understanding the Electoral College.

Calls to reform or abolish the Electoral College are unlikely to go away. Polls taken around the 2020 election show that a majority of Americans favor replacing the Electoral College and replacing it with a nationwide popular vote. But because the system is enshrined in the Constitution, that’s easier said than done. The Electoral College also has its fair share of stalwart defenders.

But the question stands. Should the Electoral College be replaced? And, if so, what exactly should take its place? Read on for a curated guide to the debate, including the best arguments for and against the Electoral College, as well as an examination of possible alternatives.

The Electoral College Has Been Divisive Since Day One

It has always had the potential for chaos—one that hasn’t been tapped…yet.

The Corrupt Bargain

Rooted in distrust of ordinary citizens and, like so many other features of American life, in the institution of slavery, the electoral college is a relic of a past the United States should have abandoned long ago.

In Defense of the Electoral College

The Electoral College has been a significant, if poorly comprehended, mechanism for stability, liberty, and legitimacy—all of which democracies can too easily come to undermine.

The Astounding Advantage the Electoral College Gives to Republicans, in One Chart

In close elections, Republicans are favored to win even when they lose the popular vote.

In Defense of the Electoral College

While the disconnect between the electoral and popular votes may be cause for alarm, abolishing the Electoral College poses even greater dangers, particularly for liberals.

Why Republicans Should Get Behind a National Popular Vote, Too

Things are going to look much, much worse for the GOP’s chances with the Electoral College if red Texas, along with the battleground state of Florida, move to purple or blue in the coming years.

What the Electoral College Saves Us From

What would American politics look like without the Electoral College? Changing our current system would unsettle so many of the assumptions and incentives that drive presidential politics that the outcomes could easily be unpredictable.

Do Conservatives Really Think They Can’t Win?

Electoral College or direct election, conservatives have to convince more people, including in urban areas, that their policies are preferable.

Five Common Misconceptions About the Electoral College

Defenders of the Electoral College argue that it was created to combat majority tyranny and support federalism, and that it continues to serve those purposes. This stance depends on a profound misunderstanding of the history of the institution.

Five Reasons to Keep Our Despised Method of Choosing the President

All are practical reasons, not liberal or conservative reasons.

The Electoral College’s Real Problem: It’s Biased Toward the Big Battlegrounds

A winner-take-all system within states can produce results counter to the majority for no high-minded reason.

In 1969, Democrats and Republicans United to Get Rid of the Electoral College. Here’s What Happened

The reason both parties united in support: Former Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

The Racial History of the Electoral College—and Why Efforts to Change It Have Stalled

The Electoral College was built in part to accommodate white, male slave owners who could not have anticipated a two-party system, that slaves would be freed or that black people and women would be able to vote.

What Could Replace the Electoral College?

As a scholar of presidential democracies around the world, I’ve examined a range of options the U.S. could consider, if it chose to change how the president is elected.

How to—Carefully—Surmount the Electoral College

There is a plan that can get the country closer to having a national popular election for president within the current constitutional framework, and without the need for a constitutional amendment.

An Idea for Electoral College Reform That Both Parties Might Actually Like

The way we now elect presidents would horrify the authors of the U.S. electoral system. But the system can be fixed, and the power lies with the states.

The Electoral College Has Its Issues. So Do the Alternatives.

The electoral college is hardly the optimal way to choose a national leader, and the case against it deserves serious debate. So does the complexity of devising a better alternative.

Can Anything Dislodge the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is a slippery target. In most political constituencies, opposition to the institution is fluid; with every elimination effort, the battle lines change.

Gaming the Electoral College

Don’t like the results? Change the rules! Use this interactive map to see how alternative electoral vote allocation methods would have affected the results had they been in place for the 2012 or 2016 presidential election.

Understanding the Electoral College

Everything you ever wanted to know about America’s byzantine system for selecting a president.