The Electoral College

There is a growing movement of people seeking to abolish the Electoral College due to the 'close' election of 2000 that put President Bush in office. (Thank the good Lord) They say what good is it, why have it, the will of the people, etc. Many who have jumped on the anti-Electoral College bandwagon are not even sure what the Electoral College is and what it means. To quite a few, the first time they heard about it was in the election of 2000.

The process by which we elect a president has been around since the beginning of our Constitution. I read in Article II, Section one that it has always been this way. When one considers the incredible amount of care that the Founders gave to the putting together of this stirring and amazing document, one cannot honestly and fairly discount the Electoral College as old, archaic and out-dated. It is a part of the very foundation of our form of government.

An interesting aside here is the Founder's and Framer's attention to we the people and our right to live free. The government was thus put together to ensure our right to live as we saw fit, without the interference of governing bodies. This living of course was arguably within the framework of an actual defined right and wrong. Even so, the attention to the checks and balances put into place by these men (and the women who loved them and had their ear) was nothing short of brilliant.

But to call it into question as unecessary because Al Gore did not win is the very thing our Constitution wants to avoid. If you want to know further what good the Electoral College does for our system of election and its grand purpose, perhaps reading the words of Alexander Hamilton written to promote our Constitution back in 1787:

"afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder. This evil was not least to be dreaded." ..."Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single state," Hamilton wrote, "but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate." The Federalist No.68

The Electoral College ensures that all the states, small ones included, rural areas too, matter, not just the popular vote. Without the Electoral College neither President Bush nor John Kerry would be visiting any place but the big cities. When we consider what happened in 2000 in a state like Michigan, Al Gore had the popular vote with 51%, though he did not do well at all in most counties, and especially in the rural areas and farming communities. He did take Detroit though, with a whopping 94% of the vote, a percentage some say was inflated due to voter fraud-which let's tell the truth here-is only newsworthy if the GOP is suspected of such behavior. The Electoral College ensures that that sort of 'little man' behavior is kept in check and that the votes of those in those small towns matters.