illustration by | DANIELLE ZHANG
PANO PERSPECTIVE The Electoral College undermines democracy in the U.S. 25 out of 30 Panorama staff members agree
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hen Americans line up at the polls every four years, they are not casting their ballots for a president; rather, they are voting for Electors in the Electoral College, who in turn choose the next president and vice president. This system is outdated and delivers on none of its promised benefits while creating significant threats that affect American democracy as well as its people. The Electoral College was designed to dilute the power of the people in selecting their next leader. The Electoral College undermines the purpose of democracy, which is founded on the will of the people. A system that allows for results which don’t reflect the will of the majority is undemocratic. Supporters of the Electoral College today hold that even if it was originally created with the intent to undermine the will of the people, it serves an important role in preventing political polarization and “radical populism” from taking place. However, the Electoral College doesn’t serve as a safeguard against this; in fact, it has placed some of America’s most divisive presidents in office. The Electoral College only deepens divisions in America and hasn’t prevented divisive figures from taking office, rendering it useless. The Electoral College is inherently flawed by making individual votes weigh differently depending on location. An election should be decided by people, not geography.
Voters in Wyoming — a less populous state with three electoral votes — have 3.6 times as much influence as voters in California, a state with 55 electors. The system of assigning electors in a winner-takes-all manner dilutes the power of millions of individual votes which tend to be concentrated in marginalized communities. A free and fair election counts each vote equally, regardless of whether it comes from New York or Alaska. Many have called for the reform or dismantling of the Electoral College, but the most effective solution currently being pushed is not abolishment. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a system that circumvents the Electoral College without reform. The NPVIC is a contract dictating that whoever wins the national popular vote will win all of their electoral votes, creating a quasi-popular vote system. This solution is far from perfect, but jump starts the long path towards election reform. The NPVIC is currently in use by 15 states and the District of Columbia and should be adopted by Missouri as well, as the compact needs a combined 270 electoral votes before it can come into effect. The NPVIC website has resources to spread the word and contact representatives by state. Embracing or rejecting the Electoral College should not be a partisan decision — we all have the responsibility to contact our representatives and push the adoption of the NPVIC. p
Editorial Note: Each editorial, Panorama selects an issue that the staff thinks is important to address and expresses a view that belongs to the majority of the staff. Panorama welcomes the opinions of its readers, and encourages letters to the editors. Please bring signed letters to room 1311 or email Panorama at publications01@ladueschools.net. Panorama reserves the right to revise submissions for length as long as original intent remains unaltered.
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SPREAD DESIGN BY CAROLINE EDGAR & CLAYTON COUGHLIN
