The Electoral College

 

Naval Academy Fight Song (Anchors Aweigh)

Stand Navy down the field, sails set to the sky;            

We'll never change our course, So Army you steer shy-y-y-y.  

Roll up the score, Navy, anchors aweigh!        

Sail Navy down the field and sink the Army, sink the Army grey!

Many us recognize and get emotional over college fight songs.  So what is the Electoral College fight song?

The Electoral College has received a lot of attention in recent months.  Many of us understand that there are 538 electors, but that number is NOT specified in the Constitution. Article II, Section 1 of  the US Constitution specifies that each state has a number of Electoral College votes equal to the number of its Senators ( and there are two Senators for each state) plus the number of its Representatives.  The 23rd Amendment specified that the District of Columbia, which is not a state, would have three electoral college votes.  That the number of Representatives is 435 is due to a 1911 Act of Congress, not because of the constitution.  https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/resources-and-activities/CVC_HS_ActivitySheets_CongApportionment.pdf

Congress chose the number 435 because the House wanted a manageable number of members.  The Constitution only specifies that each state should have one Representative and that the number of Representatives be proportional to population, specifically excluding only “Indians who are not taxed.”  (Prior to the adoption of the 14^th Amendment, enslaved persons counted as 3/5 of one person.)  There are a number of mathematical formulas that could meet the objective of at least one representative per state and representation proportional to population.  A simple procedure known as the “Wyoming” rule, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Rule, would set the number of representatives in each state based on its ratio to the state with the smallest population, which according to the 2010 census was Wyoming. Had this change in apportioning the House of Representatives been adopted in 1930, it would NOT have changed the outcome of any presidential election since 1930, including the most recent election in 2020.  However the California congressional delegation would have increased from 53 to 66, which is in line with the size of its population which was 66 times that of Wyoming according to the 2010 Census.

This would require that the size of the House be increased from its current 435 to 537, according to the 2010 Census (the 2020 Census results have not yet been officially released).  While this rule would have required the size of the house to be 1343 in 1930, 537 in 2020 seems reasonable even if all members were to be accommodated by the current House Chamber.  Given today’s technology which also allows for remote attendance at debates and votes, adoption of the “Wyoming” rule would bring the apportionment of the House closer to one man, one vote; while meeting the constitutional requirement of one representative from each state.  This changes the numbers of the Electoral College but does not abolish the Electoral College.  But it does bring its size closer to its original intent.