Understanding the Electoral College

The Foundation

The electoral college is built on the ideas of the constitutional convention in 1787, and has not changed since—making this the most archaic system still left in our modern democracy. Other systems and governing ideologies had ways to change with the times, such as: ammendments to the constituion, and more.At its base form, each state is assigned an amount of electoral votes based on the representatives in house of representatives and senates, and a candidate needs 270 total to win the election. Below is a graph showcasing the electoral votes per state:

Source: Bridgewater State University

How It Works

You might be wondering how electors are chosen, and this is through a closed system run by the state. This means that the electors are not choosen by the popular vote of the people but by the political giants and machines in the state government. This promotes internal corruption by the political parties.

The electors also do not have to listen to the public, and have only an obligation to answer to the government officials who elected them. This provides a open way for faithless electors to go against their true vote.