Matt Beat
@iammrbeat·1.4M subscribers·960 videos
Why the Electoral College is Terrible
Posted
December 7, 2018
Views
1,171,692
Likes
43,662
Comments
22,197
Engagement
5.62%
December 7, 2018
1,171,692
43,662
22,197
5.62%
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19:00Now PlayingUPDATEI made a followup video to this one
Mr. Beat explains how the Electoral College is the worst way to elect the President and Vice President in the United States.
#electoralcollege #uspolitics #apgov
Check out the Felt Show here:
Check out E Pluribus Unum here:
Steven Crowder's sad attempt to defend the Electoral College:
CGP Grey's classic, great Electoral College takedown:
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Produced by Matt Beat. Music by Electric Needle Room. All images either by Matt Beat, found in the public domain, or used under fair use guidelines.
Special thanks to the AP Archives for use of some their footage!
Sources:
Reform options to fix problems of Electoral College:
Photo credits:
Ryanandlenny
Gage Skidmore
This video is about how the Electoral College works. Ok, you know what? Scratch that. This video is about how the Electoral College is horrible. So yeah, this is one of my rare opinion videos. Long-time viewers of my channel already know how much I hate the Electoral College, but here, finally, is my epic video making the case that it should be gone, or, at the very least, reformed. I’ve been wanting to make this video for a long time.
So first, what is the Electoral College? It’s the system of electing the President and Vice President every four years in the United States. It’s described in Section 2, Article 1 and the 12th Amendment of the Constitution. First, in general, the political parties in each state pick these people called electors. They often choose these electors based on their service to the party, and typically these electors are elected state officials, state party leaders, or even people who have connections to their party’s Presidential candidate. These electors can’t be in the United States Congress, but otherwise each state is fairly loose with their requirements. In the 2016 election, the youngest elector was 19 and the oldest 93. There are a total of 538 electors in the entire country, which is a random number the Founding Fathers pulled out of their- what? Oh I guess there’s a good reason why there’s 538. The 538 number is based off of 100 Senators plus 435 representatives plus 3 for the District of Columbia because heaven forbid we forget them (23rd amendment). So it’s partially based on an equal vote for every state, and also based on population. Kansas currently has six electors because it has 2 Senators plus 4 representatives representing 4 districts in the House of Representatives.
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Together, these 538 electors make up the Electoral College. On Election Day, tens of millions of Americans go to a voting booth and cast their ballots for President and Vice President, except that they are not really casting their ballots for President and Vice President. What counts in the Electoral College are the votes of the 538 electors. Now, these electors usually look at who the majority of their state voted for and vote with them, but still, they COULD vote for whoever they want.
