Why Was the Electoral College Created?

The Electoral College is a group of elected representatives who formally elect the President of the United States and the Vice President of the United States. There are currently five hundred and thirty eight electors in the Electoral College. Due to the Electoral College, the elections in the United States are actually an example of indirect elections. Yet, what is this history behind the Electoral College, and why was the Electoral College created?

There were two major reasons why the Electoral College was created:

• To have a separate group from the citizens who could make the decision about who should be president
• To equalize the power between all sizes of states in the election process.

Creating a Separate Group

The founding fathers wanted to insert a type of intermediate between the general population and the election of a President.

The founding fathers did not believe that the general population was educated enough, or intelligent enough to properly choose the President or the Vice President of the United States.

The founding fathers were worried that the population would easily select an individual who was not qualified enough for the role, or an individual who wanted to become President for the wrong reasons.

For example, the founding fathers worried that a tyrant or a dictator might easily manipulate the general public into electing him. Simply put, the founding fathers did not believe the general public could handle a direct election. Since the Electoral College only met once, the founding fathers believed that the group could not be manipulated over time. The Electoral College was a way of protecting the general public.

Equalizing the Power Between States

Additionally, the Electoral College solved another problem for the founding fathers. Individuals from smaller states such as Rhode Island were concerned that their states would not have enough of a voice in the election of the President.

If the election of the President was based on a direct vote, the smaller states would be at a disadvantage because of their smaller populations. The system of the Electoral College ensured that each state had the same amount of votes for the President as the states had as representatives in Congress. This means that each state had to at least have three electors in the Electoral College.

Constitution and the Electoral College

The Electoral College is actually in the Constitution. It is specifically in Article II, Section I, Clause 3 of the Constitution. This Article specifies the method of choosing electors for the Electoral College. According to the Constitution, each state chooses their electors.

However, the method by which each state selects their electors is up to the state. When the Electoral College first began, some states allowed individuals to vote for electors, and other states appointed electors.

Further, according to the Constitution, each elector then meets in their states and votes by ballot for two individuals. For the first two elections of the President, all the votes were tallied up and there was no separate vote for the Vice President. The individual who had the most votes was declared President, and the individual who had the second most votes was declared Vice President. However, this created problems because the President and the Vice President were often from different parties. The individuals often did not work well together.

Provisions of the Twelfth Amendment

This problem was solved by the Twelfth Amendment. The Amendment states that each of the electors will cast distinct votes for the Vice President and President, instead of two votes for the President. Further, the electors cannot vote for both candidates of a presidential ticket if both of the individuals are from the same state as the elector. Since the election of 1804, the Twelfth Amendment has been in place.

The Electoral College has received a considerable amount of criticism throughout the years. Critics often complain that the Electoral College is not democratic, and it is no longer necessary to protect the general public. However, despite criticism, the Electoral College still exists to this day.