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The Electoral College and Its Controversy In The Election

Electoral College Vote | Illustration by Kayli Thomspon | The Wright State Guardian


Wright State University (WSU) political science professors disagree about the role of the Electoral College but find common ground when talking about possible outcomes of the 2020 election. 

The electoral college

Created in 1787, the Electoral College is the constitutional system that ultimately decides the chief executive. A constitutional compromise between Founding Founders, this system is a balance of power between people and the government.  

According to Dr. Liam Anderson, a political science professor at WSU, states have a set amount of College members equal to the number of House Representatives and two Senators. Ohio has 18. Chosen by the parties, electors vote for the President based on votes cast by citizens. 

The biggest concern for this election is the fact that former Vice President Biden or President Trump could win the popular vote, but not the Electoral vote, as seen in 2016. 

According to Dr. Anderson, “[this] has happened twice, possibly three times, in the past 20 years, now the problem is the person who wins the most [popular] votes doesn’t always get elected”   

Efforts to abolish the College or pass the National Popular Vote Compact, which would instill a winner take all system across the county, is a response to this problem  

Dr. Sean Willson, a political science professor and an American political scientist, disagrees saying, “if it was a popular vote system, they [the candidates] they would campaign differently. The mechanics of the campaign world would be different, there would be less attention by the campaigns in middle America.”  

But is America a collection of states or a united nation? The Electoral College creates a system where each candidate has to win 50 elections in 50 different states with varying demographics. 

“The debate over the Electoral College is the debate over what we want as a county,” said Masada Warner, a sophomore political science major. 

Both professors recognize another possibility of this election: neither candidate gets a majority in the Electoral College. 

According to Dr. Wilson, “[if] nobody has a majority, nobody has 270 votes, you have to go through the tie-breaking process in the House.”  

According to Dr. Wilson, in a tie or non-majority situation, each state would get a single vote in the House based on state delegations. If the House is unable to make a decision then the decision would be moved to the Senate. 

The debate around the Electoral College is raging but Ohio is a key swing-state. It’s 18 electoral votes will impact the election making Ohio voters some of the most important in the county. 


Jamie Naylor

Editor-in-Chief

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