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We've been publishing a lot of readers' letters lately about the role of the Electoral College in the selection of our president, including many from writers -- most likely Hillary Clinton backers -- angry that the popular vote was, in essence, discounted in the results of the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Clinton actually received about 2.8 million more popular votes than Trump, but Trump, of course, won the Electoral College, 306 to 232, and thus the title of president-elect.
I've heard some voters question whether they wasted their time heading to the polls, while others who didn't vote in the presidential race may now be wishing they had.
Turning out to cast your ballot to be counted among the popular vote totals, of course, remains critical to our democracy -- even if you disagree with the results. That's because the vote totals in every state except two (Maine and Nebraska) dictate who gets the assigned electoral votes. In other words, the candidate who wins the most votes in the state receives all of that state's electoral votes -- winner takes all, so to speak. The electors will gather Monday at each state capitol for the formal vote that will make Trump's win official.
This process has become a point of contention because Clinton has now become the fifth presidential candidate in U.S. history to win the popular vote but lose the election based on the Electoral College.
Al Gore, you might recall, beat George W. Bush by about 540,000 popular votes, but lost the 2000 election. Other similar races include Benjamin Harrison winning the 1888 presidency despite losing the popular vote to Grover Cleveland by 90,000 ballots; and Rutherford B. Hayes winning the 1876 election after losing the popular vote by 250,000 ballots to Samuel Tilden.
Perhaps the most interesting U.S. presidential election ever was the 1824 presidency of John Quincy Adams, who, according to FactCheck.org, did not win the electoral vote nor the popular vote. Andrew Jackson won both categories, but because neither candidate reached the required majority 131 electoral votes, the decision went to the House of Representatives, which voted Adams into the White House.
(If you think the Clinton-Trump election was contentious, just imagine how fragmented the nation became after the Adams-Jackson decision!)
Whether or not you agree with it, our Founding Fathers had a reason for creating the electoral vote system. They were apprehensive about the unchecked power of the popular vote, so they added an extra step in the process of selecting a president.
These men feared that large "factions" could grow to encompass more than 50 percent of the population -- a hostile takeover of sorts -- that could "sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens," James Madison explained.
Alexander Hamilton said the point of the Electoral College is to preserve "the sense of the people," while ensuring that a president is chosen "by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice."
Many Americans now believe this extra layer is no longer needed. They argue, in a democracy, isn't the will of the majority supposed to be the driving factor, after all?
Yes, but like it or not, you can't change the rules of the game after it's been played. If the future of the Electoral College is to be questioned, now is the time to do that -- for future elections, but not for this one.
And certainly, this is not the time to become frustrated and quit voting.
Here's why.
In the last three years, 112 elections in Ohio ended in a tie or were decided by just one vote, according to information released last week by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Of course these don't rise to the level of a nationwide presidential race, but you can't deny their importance on the local level.
Husted summed up well the importance of casting your vote in every election.
"I regularly remind voters that every Election Day, we find more examples where just one vote could have made a difference, which is why it is important that every eligible voter take the opportunity to know what will be on their ballot and participate in the process," Husted said.
blinert@tribtoday.com