What is a major flaw in the electoral collage system?

Answer 1

Some critics of the way the Electoral College performs its duty on using their votes to elect a US president has often come under fire. They believe that the national popular vote is the better way of doing this. They cite the current system flawed, but many others disagree.

Answer 2

Although it's not strictly a flaw with the EC, itself, the way states apportion their votes is. In all but two states, the winner of a state takes all its EVs. I would prefer states apportioned their EVs by congressional district, with the winner of each state's general election being awarded the "extra" two EVs. (Each state has as many EVs as it has congressional districts plus two.) For example, if a state has nine EVs and one candidate wins the popular vote in four CDs and captures more votes overall than does his opponent, he would get six EVs (one EV for each CD plus two for capturing the overall popular vote in the state), and his opponent would get three. This method would make candidates concentrate more closely on "swing CDs" rather than on swing states. As it stands now, candidates can ignore states that are either firmly in their camp or their opponent's camp. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal by Pete Du Pont (former governor of Delaware) reports that the California Senate passed legislation that would award the state's EVs to the candidate who won the popular vote NATIONALLY, even if California, itself, did not select the popular-vote winner. A similar bill passed the state Assembly in May. Gov. Schwarzenegger hasn't yet signed the bill. Other states are considering similar initiatives. If you follow the OpinionJournal link, it will explain why abandoning the EC is a bad idea.

Answer 3

popular vote is not guaranteed presidency.
One of the major flaws of the Electoral College system is that a majority vote does not guarantee a win. Several presidents have been elected without a clear majority of voters.

Answer 4

The electoral college system is a great system that ensures every state every district has a say in every election. This way our elected leaders have to represent all the people and not just one group of densly populated area. Every district has its votes and the people of that community decide as a community not just as a bunch of un-related individuals.

Answer 5

One glaring problem as seen in 2016 is that it's possible for a candidate to win the electoral vote while losing the popular vote. In other words, the person with the most votes still lost.

A different opinion

Except that the above that isn't really a flaw. The Electoral College worked exactly as designed. Since the United States is a Republic, the President is chosen by the States, not by the country's total popular vote. How a State votes in the Electoral College is determined by that State's popular vote. This helps to even out the power of the less populated states.

Answer 6

Some critics of the way the Electoral College performs its duty on using their votes to elect a US president has often come under fire. They believe that the national popular vote is the better way of doing this. They cite the current system flawed, but many others disagree.

Answer 7

There are no flaws in the Electoral College system. The College is designed to give a candidate the votes of every state that is won during the US presidential election system. If the Electoral College is flawed, it begs the question as to why it has not been changed over the long history that it has.

Answer 8

Some people over the many years in US history believe that the Electoral College may not be reflective of the "peoples" will when it comes to the US presidency. Once a state is won by the votes of a state, all the votes of the losing candidate "disappears" . Thus the winner of a US presidential election can be distorted. The winner of the election by the total votes received in all states, may not be elected in that the College counts only states who have won that state. Nevertheless, there have never been serious attempts to change that. If it is changed and a disaster results, then the US has a new problem. It's the safe bet for all politicians to keep the Electoral College.

Answer 9

Electors are not required to vote for the candidate who wins the popular vote.