The Electoral College was never intended to be the “perfect” system for picking the president, says George Edwards III, emeritus political science professor at Texas A&M University. While gerrymandering can effect the composition of the House and the individual state legislature somewhat, it has little to …

Ultimately, the Electoral College contributed to ending slavery, since Abraham Lincoln, having earned only 39.9% of the popular vote in 1860, nevertheless won a crushing victory in the Electoral College — leading many Southern slaveholders to stampede to secession in 1860 and 1861. In his Dec. 26 op-ed, “ Overriding the wishes of the American people ,” E.J.

Dionne Jr. said that the electoral college must be abolished. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President of the United States. The Electoral College is a good antidote to the poison of regionalism because it forces presidential candidates to seek support throughout the nation. The Electoral College creates a clear winner in cases where the popular vote is very close.
When voters go to the polls on Tuesday, they will be choosing which candidate receives their state's electors. For an example, go to this page. In most cases, the Electoral College forces candidates to win not just a majority, but a super-majority. But the Electoral College (and Senate) is based on the state popular vote while gerrymandering reshuffles the state’s Congressional districts. The Electoral College is widely regarded as an anachronism, a nondemocratic method of selecting a president that ought to be superseded by declaring …