But WHY does the United States even HAVE an Electoral College?

The answer boils down to three things: Representation, Slavery, and Separation of Powers.

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#ElectoralCollege #Elections #History

While the vast majority of votes cast in the 2020 US election happened on November 3rd, that’s not actually the date the President is elected. The popular vote serves only to inform state-level electors (that is, members of the Electoral College) how to vote. But if you look around the world, you’ll see that no other nation has a system quite like this. So why does the US? Why does the United States even have an Electoral College?

The answer, it turns out, is less about grand deliberate design and more about navigating competing considerations at play in the 1780s.

Hope you enjoy! I certainly learned a lot making it!!

Less-than-three,
Peter

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Sources:

The Virginia Plan


The New Jersey Plan


Procession of getting to the Electoral College


On the connection of the Electoral College to Slavery


Madison’s notes on the convention


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Electoral College,Election,Presidential Election,Constitutional Convention,