The Electoral College

On October 2nd, 2006, in Sacramento California, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that ran “counter to the tradition of our great nation.” The bill would allot the state’s fifty five electoral votes to the candidate who won the popular vote. It was developed by a computer scientist, John R. Kozea, who visualized a system in which states with the 270 electoral votes needed for election would join together behind the candidate with the popular vote. In doing this, they would disregard individual voters. He thought that this strategy would force candidates to campaign nationwide rather than just in the battleground states. California, considered mostly democratic, is often forgotten when presidential candidates are campaigning. Proponents of the bill, such as Thomas J. Umberg, felt that in vetoing the bill Arnold Schwarzenegger chose to “maintain the status quo.”

The Electoral College is a process that is part of the original U. S. Constitution. It was part of the compromise among the founding fathers between allowing Congress or the popular vote to elect the president. It works in a way that the people vote for the electors that then vote for the president. The Electoral College thus plays a large role in U.S. history. In the election of 1888, the candidates for president were Benjamin Harrison and President Grover Cleveland. On Election Day November 6, Grover Cleveland won the popular vote. However, Benjamin Harrison won the Electoral vote with 233 electoral votes to Cleveland’s 168. This election illustrated the importance of an Electoral College.