by Umique Artison

Created on: November 04, 2008   Last Updated: November 16, 2008

The Electoral College is merely an indirect process of electing the President and Vice President of the United States and was part of the original design of the Constitution.

It all began during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention. Delegates from twelve states wrote a newer and stronger form of government which was the demise of the Articles of Confederation-the first constitution of the United States. Similar to what we witness on the political front in our current society, there was a lot of debate and wavering on the election process.

In the beginning, the delegates could not agree on the actual role that "We The People", Congress, and individual states should play in electing these top two executive leaders. Although a few delegates favored the popular vote, others doubted the competence in people to make such a choice.

It was then proposed that Congress was given this power but opposition concluded that their own law-making interests could contaminate the process and therefore ruled it a conflict of interest. They also did not want the Legislature giving birth to the highest official of government which could therefore create a situation where the President could exercise an impropriety of conduct out of obligation to the Congress.

After the inability to agree on either of these two methods of selection, an alternative method was required. The compromise, love it or hate it, is spelled out in Article II, Section One of the Constitution-the Electoral College. Some argue that this winner-take-all system of electing the country's two highest executive officers undermine the purpose of a democratic society.

Many of the "Joe Six Packs", "Hockey Moms", or "95% or Working Class Americans" out there don't have a clue as to how the Electoral College process actually works. Yes, even "Joe the Plumber" may need a little explanation. Want to hear it? Here it goes...

There are currently 538 electors. Each state's electors are equal to the number of Senators and Representatives they have in Congress which represent one vote each. So, instead of voting for the President and Vice President on election day, people are actually voting for the electors. Typically, the electors have the choice to vote for any candidate of their choice but have often practiced voting for the candidate that wins the popular vote in their states. This is why Presidential campaigns target states that carry generally large amounts of electoral votes. Hello Ohio!

In order to win the election, the President must secure 270 electoral votes. If neither candidate wins the 270, the decision is then passed on to the House of Representatives to choose.

Contrary to popular belief, every vote does count.

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