Question

Present a couple of arguments for selecting a president by electoral votes rather than by popular vote.

Answer 1

Electoral college was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution. The main reason behind establishing an electoral college in the Constitution was the belief of the founding fathers that using electors instead of popular votes would be more fruitful in safeguarding against the uninformed or uneducated voters by putting the final decision in the hand of electors most likely to possess the information necessary to make the best decision i.e. the exucated , informed and updated citizens. Thus way the voices of minorities cannot be completely subsided by popular choice of the majority.

Besides the electoral college ensures equal participation and involvement of all parts of the country in selecting the president because all the citizens including the poor farm workers and the marginalised living in small towns and rural areas get equal right to select their choice as the president and in this way the representation of all sections of society is ensured. This also helps in a way that the presidential candidates are in a way forced to present their intended policies with a national focus instead of focussing on being beneficial to a select few.

Also electoral college guarantees certaininty to the outcome of presedential elections and precludes the calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. It also helps in creating a larger mandate to give the elected president more credibility.