If presidential elections were decided by popular vote instead of the Electoral College, Al Gore would have been elected president in 2000. How we choose a president profoundly impacts how campaigns are run, the importance of swing states and an election’s outcome. It’s certainly no surprise that the Electoral College vs. popular vote controversy has sparked considerable debate. As the issue surfaces heading into November, is it time to graduate from the Founding Father's Electoral College concept, or are popularity contests no way to choose a president?
It is true that in larger elections, recounts are less likely. The countervailing reality is that they also become much more difficult and error-prone. The Electoral College ensures that recounts are contained within individual states. Under a national popular vote scheme, any recount would be nation wide and potentially catastrophic.
Fraud is also a grave concern. National Popular Vote would expose our presidential elections to an unprecedented risk of election fraud.
With the Electoral College, attempts at vote fraud are contained within the boundaries of a state. If a big city political machine decides to manufacture thousands of fake votes, the most they can do is swing their state and then only if it would have been won by the other candidate. Under a national popular vote scheme, phony votes from anywhere would go into the same big pot, so to speak.
After the Titanic, ocean-going ships are built with double hulls and water-tight bulkheads to compartmentalize leaks, preventing one gouge in the hull from flooding and sinking an entire ship. The Electoral College compartmentalizes recounts and the risk of election fraud, making it easier to keep the ship of state safely above water. National Popular Vote wants to rid us of these safeguards and take a ride on their electoral Titanic.
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