Why Do We Need The Electoral College? Part Four
Politics, Presidential Race 2008 June 4th. 2008, 9:05amI anticipate some caterwauling this election from the Democrats again about the Electoral College. Here is part four of an ongoing series on reasons that we still need the Electoral College. Reason The Fourth: It Enhances The Power Of Minorities
The Electoral College enhances the voice of minority interests in the selection of the President. It isn’t just racial minorities - currently the main beneficiaries of this effect are Southern blacks, Mormons, and the we-like-whores-and-poker libertarians in Nevada. The geographical nature of this enhancement also means that members of a minority group have to take it pretty seriously in order to get the benefit; if the Mormons decide tomorrow that they don’t need to live in a special area and exodus all over the country, poof, there goes their political influence.
It is very easy to formulate a system that protects the influence of minorities, but such systems have the danger of leading to serious factionalism and infighting, as in the proportional-representation nightmares of many European governments. The electoral system provides a voice for these often-disenfranchised groups, while the geographical restriction ensures that the system does not degenerate into a hundred warring factions.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Hmm…I’m not sure this is right. Yes, the Utah Mormons get 5 electoral votes, but nobody bothers courting the Mormon vote because they reliably vote so solidly Republican that even a fairly significant movement towards the Democrats probably wouldn’t affect the allocation of electoral votes. Under a popular system the Democrats might throw the Mormons a bone to try to get an extra 10% of their vote, and the Republicans would throw them a bone to keep it, but under the electoral system they don’t matter.
Also, remember that when gerrymandering, legislators try to concentrate the opposition heavily in a single district, since votes beyond 50% are wasted. The electoral college works more or less the same way.