Every vote matters and should hold the same weight in the election process, but that’s not the case with our current electoral college system in place.

The electoral college system doesn’t represent the peopleThe electoral college system that was implemented when this nation was created has failed to satisfy the American people and leaves many to question whether their individual vote has any value when it comes to influencing the election.

The popular vote is a much better solution to our country’s electorate process and reflects the voter’s choice of who they want to lead this nation. The current electoral system doesn’t represent the people or their beliefs well and leaves much to be desired.

In the United States, we use a plurality/majority electoral system. This is best described as a “winner-take-all,” where the candidate with the most votes received in an electoral district wins a seat.

This type of electoral system makes it difficult for people who live in states such as California or Idaho where they are primarily blue and red every election. The plurality/majority electoral system also discourages third parties as they must win the majority of states to get to the needed 270 electoral votes.

Representation among Americans is being halted by the current electoral system and is harmful for the country due to voters’ voices not being heard.

It is also causing partisan polarization, the presence of increasingly conflicting and divided viewpoints between Democrats and Republicans. 

Polarization is dividing the country further because of the electoral college’s format leading to presidents who weren’t able to win the popular vote. Eventually, it leads to negative partisanship, when voters form a strong loyalty based more on loathing for an opposing party.

The plurality/majority electoral system has damaged the way citizens trust the voting process because of some votes being less influential than others in swing states.

Instead of completely removing the electoral system from our election process, the United States needs to change to proportional representation.

Proportional representation is a type of electoral system that reflects the percentage of votes that party candidates receive in an election.

This would allow representatives of all parties a chance to have a seat in Congress based on the percentage of votes they are able to get. The popular vote still wins and holds a majority, but it will include a mixture of other ideals and parties due to a percentage of seats going to those who received a portion of the votes.

Proportional representation would increase the mixture of different parties within Congress and give more representation to third parties than the current electoral system does. The majority vote would still hold true and give the people the president that they vote in, but it would also give equal representation among the parties in the other branches of government.

Along with this, the popular vote to decide the president has been asked for by the people for years instead of the winner of a state takes all of that state’s electoral points, even if they only won it by less than 1%.

 It continues to poorly reflect the people’s decision and wants for the country’s leaders as candidates focus on winning states rather than appealing to the majority of voters.

This country has become too fixated on being a “red state or blue state” for general elections as a result of our electoral system, instead, we should focus on being united.

Americans are tired of presidents who didn’t succeed in the popular vote winning the presidency because that’s not whom a majority voted into office.

This electoral system the United States adopted has proven to split the country and cause citizens to become restless due to it not truly representing the American people’s desired president-elect. 

The current electoral system in place has not worked and we need to demand change so that everyone’s vote is worth the same.