'An 18th century process still used for the election of the 21st century president.' Critically evaluate this view of the Electoral College. (30 marks)

‘An 18^thcentury process (i.e. outdated and flawed) still used for the election of the 21^stcentury president’ is not a fair assessment of the Electoral College (EC). Under the EC, voters in states vote for their preferred presidential candidate in early November. Then, in December, the 538 Electors, chosen by their state, vote for the presidential candidate that their state did; the president is therefore elected indirectly. Whilst the EC is certainly flawed, namely because the winning candidate may not be endorsed by a majority of the electorate, this is necessary to preserve the voice of the states, thus maintaining an important element of federalism. Similarly, the EC gives the winning president a broad, national mandate due to the focus on all of the states, not just those with the largest population. Moreover, the fact that the EC gives national third parties very little chance of winning the presidential election, allows the winning candidate to more often than not have a majority of the popular vote; a proportional system would not work in the election of the president. Therefore, the EC is not an outdated ‘18^thcentury process’ because it more often than not produces presidents with strong, democratic mandates while preserving a vital aspect of federalism. To conclude, ‘an 18^thcentury process still used for the election of the 21^stcentury president’ is not a fair or accurate assessment of the EC. Usually, the EC produces a president with a broad national mandate, a majority of the popular vote and preserves the voice small states, thus maintaining an important part of federalism. Whilst in some respects the EC is undemocratic insofar as it is unfair to national third parties and can potentially produce disproportional votes, these disadvantages are cancelled out when considering how well suited the EC is to the election of the president. Therefore, despite its faults, the EC is not an outdated ‘18^thcentury process’ with fundamental and irreconcilable flaws ‘still used for the election of the 21^stcentury president’.(Introduction and conclusion only)