Everything You Need To Know About The Electoral College

The Electoral College is yet again under attack from many on the Left after Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote to Donald Trump. Reeling from the stunning defeat, some Democrats are advocating for the Electoral College to be scrapped and replaced with a popular vote. This is a dangerous idea, as the system is a mechanism that protects liberty and federalism from mob rule. Here is everything you need to know about the Electoral College.

The Electoral College was devised as the framers were crafting the Constitution. There were numerous ideas on how to elect a president, such as through Congress, the states, or by popular vote. James Madison even had a proposal to have the first branch of government select the second branch, and together they would choose the president and court judges. Madison’s plan was eventually modified to having the House of Representatives elected by the people and the Senate populated through state legislatures (until the 17th Amendment was implemented). To elect the president, the Founders devised the Electoral College, which had citizens of each state vote for electors who would cast their votes for the president, modeled on the delegates representing states at the Constitutional Convention.