ELECTORAL COLLEGE

How the electoral college affects the election

There is a lot of confusion in terms of what the electoral college is and how it affects the general election process. There are arguments that the electoral college is outdated and no longer needed but there are also people who argue that the electoral college is needed. Regardless of these arguments voters still need to know what the electoral college is.

The Electoral College is an entity made up of 538 electors and forms every four years solely to elect the president and vice president of the United. 538 electors are made up of different amounts of electors representing each state and Washington D.C. For each state’s electors, they are chosen based on the number of senators plus the number of its U.S. Representatives (which may change each decade according to the size of each State’s population as determined in the Census.) In order to win the election, there must be an absolute majority-- 270 electors or more is required to win the election.

There are varying ways in which an elector is chosen. 33 states choose electors by party convention, while seven states and Washington DC selects electors by state party committees. The rest of the states use gubernatorial( the state governor or someone front the governor’s office) appointments, appointments by party nominees, state chair appointments, presidential nominee appointments, and hybrid methods for elector selection.

Smaller states, with fewer people, like Vermont and South Dakota, are overrepresented since there is a minimum requirement of three electoral votes per state. While bigger states, with more people, like California and Texas, are underrepresented in the electoral college.

There are rules in place when selecting electors to maintain the balance between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. One rule is that members of Congress and employees of the federal government are prohibited from serving as an Elector. Also in North Carolina, any elector who signified his consent to serve as an elector and then fails to attend and vote, unless they are sick or in other unavoidable accidents, must pay the state $500.

Typically most states give all their electoral college votes to whoever won the poll of ordinary voters in the state. An example would be, if the Democratic candidate won 50.1% of the vote in North Carolina, they would be awarded all 15 of North Carolina’s electoral college votes. Only Maine and Nebraska divide up their electoral college votes according to the proportion of votes each candidate receives.

For this reason, presidential candidates target specific “swing states” during their campaigns rather than trying to win voters across the country. There tend to be more campaign stops, rallies and events in swing states. A swing state is a US state where the two major political parties have similar levels of support among voters meaning the vote could go any way. In 2016, presidential candidates spent 71% of their advertising money and 57% of their campaign appearances in Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio (swing states).

The electoral college is the reason why a presidential candidate can win the popular vote and not become president. The winner of the presidential elections of 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016 did not win the popular vote but won through the electoral college. With the latest being Donald Trump who had almost 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.

The Electoral College was created in 1787 as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and the election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. American founders created the electoral college for multiple reasons: • To balance the interests of highpopulation and low-population states • To put a buffer between the people and electing the president; a chosen group of people would be able to object to the people’s vote • They believed that not all voters were informed enough to choose a leader • The creation of the Electoral College was part of a political agenda for slavery to persist in the United States,

None of the Founding Fathers’ assumptions about the electoral system proved true. It was never written how the electoral college electors should be picked in the constitution. The Founding Fathers assumed that each elector’s vote would be counted but all but two states no longer follow this. According to History.com, Founders also assumed that most elections would ultimately be decided by neither the people nor the electors, but by the House of Representatives.

The Founders also assumed that subsequent races would include a huge amount of candidates who would split the electoral college votes into little pieces, in the end allowing Congress to pick the winner. As soon as national political parties were created, the number of presidential

Ugonna Ezuma-Igwe Managing Editor candidates began to decrease. Only two U.S. elections have been decided by the House and the last one was in 1824.

For these reasons, many people believe the electoral college should be dismantled. People believe that it allows candidates to focus too much on swing states-- they spend most of their time and resources in these states because they have a lot of power in deciding the next presidential election. People also believe that the Electoral College gives disproportionate influence to whiter, more rural states so it is believed that the GOP benefits the most.

People believe smaller states get too much power as they must have at least 3 electoral votes. People’s biggest issue is that they feel that their vote doesn’t count, almost as if they are wasting their time to go out and vote.

On the other hand, some people think the electoral college needs to stay and that it is integral to America’s federalist philosophy. Allen Guelzo argued in National Affairs that by eliminating the Electoral College, other institutions would reform. He suggests that its elimination will “open federalism to review” resulting in the need for the U.S Senate.

Nonetheless, the electoral college is an integral part of the election process.

A depiction of each states number of electors

Photo from creative commons

From the Board of Commissioners to the Board of Education: Get to know your local candidates

Rachael Davis Technician Editor-in-Chief

Editor’s Note: An * indicates that the candidate is the incumbent

Board of Commissioners (BOC) District 1: Sig Hutchinson (D) What are your qualifications? • Been working to create safe and healthy communities where citizens can thrive for the past 25 years. • Primarily responsible for a 200-plus mile greenway system. • Ran for county commissioner in 2014 to put a $2.3 billion transport referendum on the ballot that was passed in 2016.

In your opinion, what are the biggest issues in Wake County currently? How can you remedy these issues while being on the Board of Commissioners? • Transportation: Working to create a variety of options through a $2.3 billion referendum. • Affordable Housing: Passed a 1 cent property tax for affordable housing, totaling to $14 million a year. Also built over 750 affordable housing units. • Creating Safe and Healthy Communities: Chairs and advises the LiveWell Wake initiative, which is currently working on initiatives like affordable housing, access to jobs, education, mental health

Alicia Thomas Technician Managing Editor Austin Dunlow Technician Arts & Entertainment Editor

BoC District 2:

Matt Calabria (D)

Calabria is a Democrat who is running unopposed. Learn more on his campaign website.

BoC District 3: Maria Cervania (D) What are your qualifications? • Worked in planning and crisis management during the early HIV/

AIDS epidemic and the H1N1 virus pandemic. • Developed partnerships in support of creating affordable housing in Wake

County • Fought HB2 and advocates for

LGBTQIA+ rights. • Advocated for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, environment/sustainability, employment/income equity and other societal benefits for Wake County.

In your opinion, what are the biggest issues in Wake County currently? How can you remedy these issues while being on the Board of Commissioners? • Protecting Wake County from COVID-19: Wants to optimize our COVID-19 response to accelerate recovery and address the barriers that limit access to health care, and support residents who experience health challenges • Equity For All: Will support any changes to the way policing is done in Wake County to have transparency and accountability, actively explore establishing a civilian review board and conducting a regular community survey, strengthening the community’s right to record law enforcement and requiring use of body-worn cameras. • Balancing the Economic Environment: Wants to be conscientious with general revenue and CARES Act funds to address needs, back efforts for rental assistance and housing support, wants to increase transparency and accountability to ensure that tax dollars are going to good use.

BoC District 4:

Susan P. Evans (D)

Evans is a Democrat who is running unopposed. Learn more on her campaign page.

BoC District 5: James West (D)

West is a Democrat who is running unopposed. Learn more on his campaign page.

BoC District 7 Faruk Okcetin (R) What are your qualifications? • Small Business Entrepreneur: Okcetin has been involved in a range of business endeavors over the last 25 years. He said that to be successful in business, you cannot borrow and spend your way to success and believes the same holds true for the

government. • Has consulted with various businesses, individuals and groups over the years to apply his learned knowledge to help solve problems and promote efficiency.

In your opinion, what are the biggest issues in Wake County currently? How can you remedy these issues while being on the Wake County Board of Commissioners? • Public Safety: Believes in supporting and working with local law enforcement to make sure they are fully trained and ready to help stifle crime, while providing assurance to citizens that injustice will not be tolerated • Wake County Debt: He supports looking for irregularities and inefficiencies in the budget by auditing county agencies, reexamining the budget and cutting costs wherever possible. • Reopening the Economy, Protecting Current and Future Businesses: Supports establishing short and long-term goals with businesses to help them in recovering from the economic effects of the pandemic. • Low Cost of Living and Access to Affordable Housing: Says he will not vote to increase property taxes or prepared food and beverage taxes. Okcetin wants to work with the local builders

Vickie Adamson (D)

What are your qualifications? • Spent 13 years in public school advocacy • Currently is the incumbent for the 7th District and has served in the role for two years. Also serves as the vice chair of the Board of Commissioners.

In your opinion, what are the biggest issues in Wake County currently? How can you remedy these issues while being on the Board of Commissioners? • COVID-19: States that Wake county has had a strong public health response to the pandemic. The county has over 200 contact tracers, has people answering phones, added nurses and created four different free drive-thru testing locations. • Affordable Housing: Adamson said she wants to implement a program to help people catch up on their rent and pay their rent until they

can recover. In the past two years, the county has been building more affordable housing units and intends to continue. • General Human Services: Wants to focus on issues facing parents and children, such as prenatal care, childhood immunizations and general child safety.

Register of Deeds Tammy L. Brunner (D) What are your qualifications? • Worked in progressive politics for 20 years in Wake County. • Has experience managing people in fast-paced, public-facing environments. • In your opinion, what are the biggest issues in Wake County currently?

How can you remedy these issues while being the register of deeds? • Affording Housing and

Transportation: The register of deeds has no direct impact on either of these issues, but Brunner wants to help protect their rights by providing clear guidance and record keeping. • Accessibility: Will work to make the office more accessible which includes advocating for better transportation options

Charles Gilliam (R) What are your qualifications? • Has been the register of deeds since 2017. • Previous work includes being an adjunct professor at North Carolina

State University. • In your opinion, what are the biggest issues in Wake County currently?

How can you remedy these issues while being the register of deeds? • North Carolina’s “Stay Open” Plan:

Millions of dollars of income, and billions in capital, flow through the register of deeds office monthly. He wants the office to stay open in a way that does not put our local economy at risk, and protects our staff and customers. Since March, 100% of their operations are conducted by mail, online or by video conference.

The full Article will be posted on the Nubian Message Website.