“The Electoral College was established in Article II Section 1 of the Constitution. There are now 538 electors, of which a minimum of 270 of them are needed to officially elect the next president.”
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Originally each electoral vote in each state represented the wishes of a House District plus two votes for the wishes of the state (Senators appointed by the state).
Just as a House Member represents the wishes of their Congressional District, the elector represented the will of the population of the Congressional District.
Once states went to the winner take all standard, the voters in a Congressional District saw their choice thrown to the wind by the majority of voters statewide.
Political Parties found it easier to organize, and cheat in large urban areas (modern vote harvesting). Candidates for President no longer had to spread their appeal statewide, but could concentrate their efforts in areas where Party Bosses could “bring in the vote”.
Once the 17th Amendment was passed, a state’s legislature no longer decided how it’s two electoral votes would be cast. The will of those elected by each state house or senate district no longer mattered.
Currently each state determines how their electoral votes are cast. The movement for states to allocate their electoral votes to the candidate receiving the majority of votes nationwide is a further effort to change us from a Republic to a Democracy, exactly what our Founding Fathers tried to avoid.
Congressional and Presidential elections could be federalized and held on a different date than state or local elections (only Congressional and Presidential candidates would appear on the ballot), with the following stipulations:
1. When the Electoral College Meets to cast their ballots, each elector be required to cast their Electoral Ballot reflecting how the majority of voters in each Congressional District voted.
2. Citizens required to pre-register prior to election day, provide proof of citizenship, and present a government issued photo ID when voting, both absentee and on election day.
3. Only those providing legitimate reasons for not being able to vote on election day given an absentee ballot. (to be picked up in person, or delivered by the Supervisors of Election personnel- proof of identity provided when delivered). The major exception is for those in the military, and ballots must be provided in a timely manner so as to allow returned ballots to be registered prior to election day.
4. Scannable ballots be required and those ballots sealed and stored, once cast, until an election is certified, and for a year, following an election.
5. All voter rolls need to be cleaned up at least six months out from a federal election.
Let’s do that