Essay Contest Winners
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Preciado
Tinker AFB Campus Center
"Should the Electoral College Be Abolished?"
Although the idea of “majority rules” is appealing, especially in a democracy,
the consequences of abolishing the Electoral College would be catastrophic.
There would be an exponential increase in the influence special interest groups
have on Washington.
Under the current system, presidential candidates are able to focus their time
and money in a handful of swing states because the rest are considered safe
territory for either Republicans or Democrats. This is significantly cheaper
than mounting a fifty state campaign, especially when media markets are taken
into account. Of the top 10 most expensive media markets in the country only one
– Philadelphia – is in a swing state. If the Electoral College was abolished
candidates would have to spend money in places like New York, Los Angeles, and
Dallas. This would cause a significant increase in the amount of money required
to mount a successful campaign.
It is doubtful that regular contributors would suddenly become more generous or
that taxpayers would support a significantly larger public financing system so
the only option left is money from PACs and other special interest groups. If
these fell short as well, the so called “527 groups” which operate outside of
FEC regulation could gain even more prominence than they already have.
In theory, abolishing the Electoral College is a noble idea because it would
give equal voice to every person in America. In practice, however, it would
amplify the role of special interests and thus negate its very purpose.
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