Around the Commonwealth University Bloomsburg campus, students are getting constant

reminders that it is almost time to cast their votes. From reminders through emails, texts, and

clubs asking students to register the reminder is everywhere. Being a Pennsylvania resident

makes elections much more important. Why? Because of the Electoral College.

What role does Pennsylvania play in this election process?

Pennsylvania is going to have one of the biggest impacts in this election. This is because of the

Electoral College. In Pennsylvania the state gets 19 electoral votes. This is huge in this election

because Pennsylvania has the most electoral college votes of any swing state in the country.

How does it work?

There are two different votes in the United States, the popular vote and the Electoral College.

Although one candidate may win the popular vote, it all comes down to who wins the Electoral

College.

The way the Electoral College works is each state has designated electors who vote on behalf of

their state. There are 538 members in the Electoral College. Traditionally how

states vote is who wins the popular vote in a state, that is who will win the electoral college.

However, it does not always work out this way. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote,

but Donald Trump won the electoral college.

The Electoral College is something that can easily be forgotten in the voting process; however, it

is the difference between which candidates win. The Electoral College is unique to only the United States. This is what makes our democracy so interesting.

Political science professor at Bloomsburg campus, Dr. Peter Doeschler commented on the

electoral college winning over the popular vote.

“It doesn’t, most of the time, stir up much trouble…there have been cases where it does

contradict the Popular Vote and that’s when we start questioning our democracy,” said Doeschler.

Doeschler made the analogy that if a class were to vote on a member to hold a role, the person

who won the majority would win. This is what makes the Electoral College so odd.

The History

The Electoral College was first introduced by the Founding Fathers. In congress, there was a

disagreement on who should elect the president- the people or the legislators. It was decided that

the Electoral College will decide who wins the election based on who the state chooses as their

popular vote.

Traditionally, the candidate who wins the popular vote will most likely win the Electoral College,

however, much like the 2016 election, this is not always the case. This has happened five times

in American history.

Junior Bloomsburg English major Abbey Bowman questions the voting system.

“If you can not trust your representatives to represent you then is American politics really for the

people?” says Bowman.

Bowman’s comment rings true with many Americans. People do not think that their vote matters

because of the voting system.

What do you Know about the Electoral College?

One main concern with the Electoral College is the idea that it is an outdated system. Senior

Media and Journalism major at Bloomsburg, Leah Corbett, said that she does not think it is outdated as

long as the citizen’s votes count.

“I want to know that my vote is being counted… I think my vote does matter.” She wishes she

got more education on the Electoral College in high school. Corbett also said that she thinks the

Electoral College is important, but the popular vote should be utilized more.

Bowman said that her school did not require taking government class in high school- it was an

elective.

Bowman said, “When you said Electoral College I really did not know what you were talking

about. My education on it is very low.”

Is the Electoral College Outdated?

The Electoral College plays a big role when it comes to the swing states. There are currently

seven swing states in this election, Pennsylvania being one of them. What are the

benefits of having it?

“Yes, I think there are some benefits to it, but the shortcomings generally outweigh those”, said

Doerchler.

Doeschler also noted that the Electoral College also questions the integrity of America. Voting

fraud was a major issue in the 2020 election. This further questions if America no longer used

the Electoral College, would this stop? 63% of Americans wish to part ways with the Electoral

College.

Conclusion

The Electoral College continues to be unique to the American political system. When the citizens

criticize their own system there comes a point to sit back and reflect. As America is ever-changing, so do our

politics. Is it time to make way with the Electoral College or does it still serve

a purpose?