Why the Electoral College system just doesn't add up

It is a simple principle.  One person, one vote.  The popular election falls under this standard.  The Electoral College system fails to meet this standard.  The reason is that it doesn't provide for the current number of 538 electoral votes to be divided strictly by the relative population of each state.  That is because each state gets a number of electors based on the number of representatives it has in the House, which varied by population, and by the number of Senators in the U.S. Senate, which is two per state without regard to the state's population.

The bicameral legislative structure of the Congress makes sense in terms of the process of passing laws, to ensure that the smaller states population wise are not steamrolled by the larger states.  The Senate is one of those checks and balances of power within our system and it works.  But when it comes to electing a president, the addition of the number of senators to the calculation is inappropriate.  It gives greater weight to the votes of citizens in the states with the smallest population.

 

State	Population as of 2015		Electoral		Percentage of		Electoral
			Votes		Total Population		Votes as a %
							of population
Alabama	4,858,979		9		1.51%		8
Alaska	738,432		3		0.23%		1
Arizona	6,828,065		11		2.12%		11
Arkansas	2,978,204		6		0.93%		5
California	39,144,818		55		12.18%		66
Colorado	5,456,574		9		1.70%		9
Connecticut	3,590,886		7		1.12%		6
DC	672,228		3		0.21%		1
Delaware	945,934		3		0.29%		2
Florida	20,271,272		29		6.31%		34
Georgia	10,214,860		16		3.18%		17
Hawaii	1,431,603		4		0.45%		2
Idaho	1,654,930		4		0.51%		3
Illinois	12,859,995		20		4.00%		22
Indiana	6,619,680		11		2.06%		11
Iowa	3,123,899		6		0.97%		5
Kansas	2,911,641		6		0.91%		5
Kentucky	4,425,092		8		1.38%		7
Louisiana	4,670,724		8		1.45%		8
Maine	1,329,328		4		0.41%		2
Maryland	6,006,401		10		1.87%		10
Massachusetts	6,794,422		11		2.11%		11
Michigan	9,922,576		16		3.09%		17
Minnesota	5,489,594		10		1.71%		9
Mississippi	2,992,333		6		0.93%		5
Missouri	6,083,672		10		1.89%		10
Montana	1,032,949		3		0.32%		2
Nebraska	1,896,190		5		0.59%		3
Nevada	2,890,845		6		0.90%		5
New Hampshire	1,330,608		4		0.41%		2
New Jersey	8,958,013		14		2.79%		15
New Mexico	2,085,109		5		0.65%		3
New York	19,795,791		29		6.16%		33
North Carolina	10,042,802		15		3.12%		17
North Dakota	756,927		3		0.24%		1
Ohio	11,613,423		18		3.61%		19
Oklahoma	3,911,338		7		1.22%		7
Oregon	4,028,977		7		1.25%		7
Pennsylvania	12,802,503		20		3.98%		21
Rhode Island	1,056,298		4		0.33%		2
South Carolina	4,896,146		9		1.52%		8
South Dakota	858,469		3		0.27%		1
Tennessee	6,600,299		11		2.05%		11
Texas	27,469,114		38		8.55%		46
Utah	2,995,919		6		0.93%		5
Vermont	626,042		3		0.19%		1
Virginia	8,382,993		13		2.61%		14
Washington	7,170,351		12		2.23%		12
West Virginia	1,844,128		5		0.57%		3
Wisconsin	5,771,337		10		1.80%		10
Wyoming	586,107		3		0.18%		1
Total U.S.	321,418,820		538		1		538

Source for population figures - U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division

Now if we recalculated the Electoral College tally based on a truly proportional division of the number of electoral votes without the weighting of the method currently in use, Trump still wins the 2016 election. The change is slight.  Currently under the system in use, Trump leads Clinton 290 to 232 with Michigan leaning toward Trump but still undecided.  Under a system of true proportional voting by state population, Trump would lead 287 to 234 (off by one vote due to rounding, but when Michigan is added in, it becomes Trump 304 to Clinton 234).

That is closer to what the framers of the Constitution were seeking.  A president being elected by a vote of the states based on apportionment of the population of these United States.  Now some of us would prefer a straight-up popular vote.  Either would require an amendment to the Constitution.

My vote is for eliminating the Electoral College.