The Electoral College. To most high school students this is a pretty insignificant term, but in actuality this group gets to make one of the biggest decisions in the nation. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President of the United States. Electors for the Electoral College are selected by each major party for each state. Every state receives electoral votes for their two senate spots and the rest of their votes depend on the number of representatives in the House. The Electoral College was established in 1787 about 230 years ago in the second article of the constitution and so the question is the idea created by the founding fathers still necessary in today’s modern society. During the 2016 election, the Electoral College’s relevance and power were put into question when Hilary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.8 million, but Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote, in turn winning presidency.

With the upcoming mid-terms coming up politics and countrywide issues are in the air on the Seattle Prep campus. Juniors Marty Noffsinger 20’ and Kevin Brinton 20’ did not have a strong opinion on the subject. Noffsinger said, “he would have a stronger opinion on the topic if it directly affected him at this time in his life.” He believes that once he is able to vote he will have a stronger opinion on the issue.

Brinton believes that he “doesn’t have a good enough understanding of what the electoral college is to say whether it should exist or not.”

The Electoral College is a big and somewhat complicated idea that is not often discussed in classroom settings which may be why students such as Noffsinger and Brinton do not have a strong opinion on the topic. Junior Haley Burgess-Alm, a member of Teilhard Collegio, commented that “before a project that we did in Teilhard I really knew nothing about the Electoral College or the large repercussions its choices have on the country.”

Burgess-Alm now believes that the Electoral College has too much power and is a bit outdated for a society where information that is easily accessible. Lauren Slavin ‘21 believes that “the electoral college and the popular vote should be counted equally instead of the popular vote not being counted at all.”

On the other hand, Christian Krueger ’20 states that “the electoral college is necessary and good because it truly represents what the states want as a whole. It also accounts for the opinions of citizens who did not vote.”
The Electoral College and its decisions effect everyone in our country. Senior Grace Swanson ‘19 worries that, “due to the electoral college people’s voices in less represented states or areas won’t be heard.”

The issue about the Electoral College is extremely important especially due to the results of the 2016 election. Since the students here at Seattle Prep are the next generations of voters it is important that students are educated and up to speed on the goings on in politics. The Electoral College is just one of many political ideas and institutions changing and being put into question in society. High school students all over the country have the opportunity to learn about these issues now which will help them make more informed decisions once able to vote.