Framers' Design for Electoral College and Today
Time for Reform?
Lesson II. Historical Development of Electoral College
Step 3. Evaluate Reform
Student Exercise
Consider the pros and cons to the Electoral College. Do you believe the Electoral College should be reformed?
Respond to this question on your paper:
Do you believe the Electoral College should be reformed? If so, how? If not, why?
These reform ideas were discussed in this lesson:
- Eliminate the Electoral College all together to make the presidential election a strictly national popular vote.
- Keep the Electoral College and change the winner-takes-all system to a proportional system based on the popular vote.
Remember these important points:
- To abolish the Electoral College, it will require a constitutional amendment, which is very difficult.
- Political parties and the winner-takes-all rules of elections are not in the Constitution and would not require a constitutional amendment to change.