US Electoral College: A System Demanding Reform

The Electoral College functions by allocating a specific number of electoral votes to each state based on population size, with the candidate securing the majority of votes in a state winning all its electoral votes. To win the presidency, a candidate must obtain 270 out of 538 total electoral votes, rendering the national popular vote inconsequential. California, for instance, has 55 electoral votes, which are awarded in their entirety to the candidate who wins the state's majority. Despite perceptions of the Electoral College as an unchangeable system, there have been over 700 proposed amendments to reform or abolish it, with the last serious attempt occurring in 2004. Historical efforts at reform have often lacked bipartisan support, particularly due to opposition from Southern senators who valued the system's reinforcement of white voter power. Notably, the structure often results in discrepancies where the popular vote winner, typically a Democrat, does not secure the presidency, diminishing representation for voters in populous states like California, Texas, and New York.