by Shyla Martin

Created on: February 26, 2009   Last Updated: March 06, 2009

The 2008 Presidential Election is just around the corner, and the race is on. Issues such as the War in Iraq, Universal Healthcare, and the price of gas have come to the forefront of election talk, but there is another issue that plays peek-a-boo during every presidential election. The debate over the abolishment of the Electoral College has been argued since the ink first dried on the U.S. Constitution. The most high-profile example took place during the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. You might remember that Bush won the election expressly based on the votes of the Electoral College. Had the decision been made by popular vote, the outcome would have been different. We would have had a different president, and the past eight years might have been drastically altered. With so much progress being made in all fields of American life, shouldn't our election process also receive an upgrade? To decide this we must examine the original purpose of the Electoral College, and its relevance to today's society.

The framers of the U.S. Constitution made provisions for a select group of electors to vote for the president. The term Electoral College wasn't used until the 1800s, and it wasn't formally written into law until 1845. The official term, as used in the U.S. Code, is College of Electors. This group, originally nameless, was, like most of the Constitution, devised as a form of compromise. Many believed that the President should be elected by Congress. Others, fearful that Congress would take advantage of this power, suggested that popular vote was the best mode. However, on September 6, 1787 the committee voted and approved a proposal sanctioning a select group to go to the polls.

Each state determines the method in which they nominate electoral candidates, whether it be in a primary or at a party convention. Electors may not hold federal office while serving as an elector. The number of electors from each state is equal to the amount of Senators and Representatives in that state. Also, Washington D.C. is allowed to hold the same amount of electors as the smallest state. During the presidential election, the electors cast two votes. One is for president, while the other is for vice-president. Both presidential and vice-presidential candidates must secure at least 270 votes to win. In the event that that does not happen, the president will be determined by the House of Representatives, whereas the vice-president is determined by the Senate.

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