Advantages and Disadvantages of the Electoral College

• The Electoral College system can give the winner a large amount of support but it also distorts popular representation.
• The Electoral College often gives the winner a large amount of support.

  • This is important for a president who needs to unite the nation and gives them a large mandate to govern.
  • The ECV system results in a strong outcome because in practice only two candidates compete for election.
• The Electoral College gives small states influence over the election result.

  • Without the Electoral College system, voters in the least populated states would have no impact.
• Small states are often overrepresented compared to more populated states.

  • Wyoming has 1 ECV for every 195,000 people whilst Texas has 1 ECV for every 734,000 people.
• In the ECV system, a candidate can have the highest number of individual votes but have the smallest number of ECVs.

  • This means that a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election.