Every presidential election cycle, constitutional law expert Alison LaCroix can count on people asking her one question when they learn what she does for a living.
鈥淲hy do we have the Electoral College?鈥� she says she's asked 鈥� again and again. 鈥淚t's good news in terms of people being aware that it exists,鈥� says LaCroix, who teaches law and history at the University of Chicago, 鈥渂ut bad news in the sense that people feel like, 鈥榃hy does it exist, and is it useful?鈥欌��
A majority of Americans 鈥� more than 60% 鈥� support abolishing the Electoral College, according to a. But the system has survived an unprecedented number of attempts to change it.
鈥淭here have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject,鈥� according to , citing more than 700 efforts to dismantle the process.
Backers of the Electoral College idea say the system balances power among large and small states, brings stability, and is an obstacle to demagogues. But critics call the Electoral College an indirect process that鈥檚 undemocratic and rooted in racism. It鈥檚 also the reason we have .
鈥淔rom the perspective of 2024, you know, it doesn't seem 鈥榮mall-d鈥� democratic to have this sort of intermediate body between the people voting and the ultimate decision,鈥� says LaCroix, who has written a .
Here鈥檚 a quick guide:
How does the Electoral College work?
鈥淲hen voters cast their ballots for a candidate for president of the United States, they are actually voting for the presidential electors who were selected by that candidate鈥檚 party,鈥� according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
On ballots around the country, names like 鈥淒onald Trump鈥� and 鈥淜amala Harris鈥� actually represent slates of electors 鈥� members of the Electoral College who are pledged to vote for that candidate.
There are 538 members of the nationwide: one for each state鈥檚 members of Congress, and three more for the District of Columbia. That鈥檚 where the presidential election鈥檚 famous number comes from: The candidate with at least 270 electoral votes (a majority) wins. As we鈥檝e seen in some previous elections, that candidate doesn鈥檛 have to win the popular vote.
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Despite its substantial-sounding name, the Electoral College is neither a place nor a permanent body: It鈥檚 more of a process. In each state, political parties designate their own slate of potential electors before the November general election.
Nearly every state and the District of Columbia have a winner-take-all policy, meaning only those electors tied to a candidate who won the popular vote in their state will send their ballots to the Capitol. Maine and Nebraska divide the ballots, giving two 鈥渁t-large鈥� electoral votes to the state鈥檚 overall winner but also one for each congressional district won.
The electors then gather in mid-December to cast their votes for president and vice president, sending the results to Congress.
Congress then certifies the votes, on Jan. 6. If , the House of Representatives would hold a contingent election to choose the president.
A presidential candidate can : it happened in 2016 and 2000, and several times in the 1800s.
Who are the electors?
In most states, the two main parties choose slates of potential electors either at their conventions or by committee votes. They鈥檙e often people who play prominent roles in state government or are longstanding party members.
Each state鈥檚 legislature determines how electors are chosen 鈥� but there are two main restrictions: They can鈥檛 be federal government workers; and they can鈥檛 be members of Congress.
Federal law doesn鈥檛 require electors to vote in a way that reflects that results in their state, but 37 states have laws requiring them to do so, . The organization says the 2016 election saw seven 鈥渇aithless鈥� electors 鈥� including five Democratic electors who refused to cast their votes for Hillary Clinton 鈥� the most since 1972.
Despite their power, electors鈥� identities aren鈥檛 usually widely known outside of their state. Unlike members of Congress, there isn鈥檛 a centralized list of all the states鈥� electors, according to the .
The Framers opted against a popular vote
The country鈥檚 framers saw the Electoral College as a way to balance a lot of competing motivations, from the separation of federal powers to states not wanting to cede power, to concerns of unequal power between the states due to population differences (and for some, not wanting to risk losing slavery). LaCroix says even at the time, in the 1780s when this decision was made at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the delegates chose 鈥渁n unusual body.鈥�
The Constitution鈥檚 framers were also dubious about a popular vote, concerned on one hand that the country was too large for the public to make an informed choice on a leader 鈥� and on the other, that a direct system could help a demagogue rise to power.
They also considered, but dismissed, the idea of having Congress choose the president, similar to Great Britain鈥檚 parliamentary system. But at the Convention, Gouverneur Morris 鈥� who 鈥� warned that if the legislature picked the president, 鈥渋t will be the work of intrigue, of cabal, and of faction.鈥�
But some Convention attendees also believed candidates would likely fail to gain national support outside their region, leaving Congress to decide the presidency.
鈥淎nd then they say, well, what about an intermediate body, which becomes the Electoral College,鈥� LaCroix says. 鈥淸It] solves the problem of the president being too beholden to Congress. It's a temporary body. It's not some entity that has ongoing power. And they thought that was appealing.鈥�
A further sign of the Electoral College鈥檚 ephemeral nature: The term isn鈥檛 mentioned in the Constitution.
Why do some call the Electoral College a relic of racism?
At the Convention, Southern states successfully argued for using enslaved people鈥檚 population numbers to bolster their power in Congress, claiming that each slave should be counted as 3/5 of a person 鈥� but not have the right to vote 鈥� when calculating representation.
A direct popular vote for the presidency would undermine that power. But if the Electoral College were to be based on representation in Congress, the Three Fifths Compromise鈥檚 amplification of Southern political power would carry over into choosing the president. The dynamic has been a force in presidential elections ever since.
鈥淭hat's a problem with the Electoral College today, is it just sort of refracts too much power to small states,鈥� LaCroix says. 鈥淎nd some of it is about smaller states 鈥� or states that were, like Georgia and South Carolina, really concerned about protecting slavery鈥� in the new Constitution.
The Civil War and the 13th Amendment ended the Three Fifths era. But for decades afterward, Southern states worked to suppress and dilute Black voters鈥� impact. Today, the Electoral College鈥檚 critics say that its winner-take-all aspect is still harmful.
鈥淵ou see the impact, for example, in the South right now,鈥� Jesse Wegman, author of the book Let The People Pick The President: The Case For Abolishing The Electoral College, . Wegman says millions of Black citizens鈥� votes in Southern states are simply drowned out by white majorities.
鈥淵ou see these patterns replicating themselves throughout our history,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he people who stopped the popular vote amendment in the late 1960s were Southern segregationists. Some of the people who prevented us from getting to a popular vote in the founding of the country were slave holders. Again and again the pattern repeats itself.鈥�
The House overwhelmingly voted to abolish the Electoral College in 1969
Going back more than 50 years, a majority of voters have supported doing away with the Electoral College.
鈥淧ublic opinion polls have shown Americans favored abolishing it by majorities of 58 percent in 1967; 81 percent in 1968; and 75 percent in 1981,鈥� according to .
Momentum to replace the Electoral College got a boost in 1968, when Richard Nixon notched a razor-thin win of the popular vote 鈥� after earlier concerns that segregationist George Wallace鈥檚 third-party candidacy might siphon enough electoral votes to prevent a clear majority.
Sen. Birch Bayh led a push to amend the Constitution, and in September of 1969, the House voted 339鈥�70 to adopt the measure. But the amendment languished in the Senate.
鈥淟ed by Southern senators but helped by some very conservative Midwestern Republicans, the proposal is defeated by a filibuster,鈥� as Harvard Kennedy School professor Alex Keyssar ahead of the 2020 election.
Segregationists weren鈥檛 the only ones who wanted to preserve the Electoral College. Some Black leaders, such as , argued in the 1970s that Black voters could wield political power as 鈥渟wing鈥� election deciders. But many of those leaders later .
There鈥檚 an ongoing debate over whether to replace the Electoral College
The college鈥檚 supporters include the conservative , which says it prevents presidential candidates from focusing only on winning votes from high-population and urban areas, thus addressing 鈥渢he Founders鈥� fears of a 鈥榯yranny of the majority,鈥� according to its website.
The Heritage Foundation also says the Electoral College tends to magnify the margin of victory, imparting a mandate to govern; and 鈥渉as the added benefit of eschewing radical candidates for more moderate ones.鈥�
Even experts who want change also warn that some of the impacts could be unpredictable.
For instance, Akhil Reed Amar, a law professor at Yale University, that running a new, national direct election would bring complications 鈥� from what central federal authority oversees it to how to get 50 states to agree on the rules.
But, Amar added, 鈥淗ere's my best argument for why we should have reform: equality. One person, one vote. Each person's vote should count the same鈥�. One person, one vote is a powerful affirmation of equality.鈥�
In the face of high federal hurdles such as a constitutional amendment, there is a push for change at the state level.
Under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, states adopt legislation requiring them to award their electors鈥� votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the popular vote nationwide. The mechanism would kick in once enough states join the compact to decide a presidential election.
As of this year, National Popular Vote legislation has become law in 17 states and D.C., reflecting 209 electoral votes. In 2023, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed his state鈥檚 version of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. This year, Maine also joined the group.
The legislation 鈥渉as also passed at least one legislative chamber in 7 states possessing 74 electoral votes (Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, Virginia),鈥� according to the website.
The compact needs to add states holding 61 more electoral votes to trigger the change.
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