# Another Electoral College Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-electoral-college-question/640099 "2012-11-06T16:29:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-electoral-college-question/640099/1 "2012-11-06T16:29:15Z")
I guess the Electoral College is here to stay, so why not eliminate the electors, and make it so that the electoral votes just simply go to the candidate who gets the most votes in each state? Selecting Electoral College electors and doing the pledge thing and giving them the opportunity to cast votes for the losing candidate just feels wrong, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-electoral-college-question/640099/2 "2012-11-06T23:52:36Z")
Such a change would require a Constitutional amendment, and nobody’s ever going to approve an amendment for something so trivial. If you’re going to go to all that trouble, why not just switch to a sane system while you’re at it? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-electoral-college-question/640099/3 "2012-11-07T00:00:47Z")
It’s not trivial. Having to go through the whole thing allows for contingency planning. What if the VP-elect dies or resigns prior to the electors voting? There are plenty of reasons to keep the system and no real ones to change it, short of scrapping the whole thing and going with the popular vote, which I oppose. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-electoral-college-question/640099/4 "2012-11-07T05:53:37Z")
Consider this proposal: [National Popular Vote Interstate Compact - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npvic) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-electoral-college-question/640099/5 "2012-11-07T06:27:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It’s not trivial. Having to go through the whole thing allows for contingency planning. What if the VP-elect dies or resigns prior to the electors voting? There are plenty of reasons to keep the system and no real ones to change it, short of scrapping the whole thing and going with the popular vote, which I oppose. The votes for the VP still count, but he essentially resigns from office the instant he is sworn in. The President fills the vacancy the same way he would any other time–nominates someone who is then voted in by Congress. Same thing happens if the President resigns, except the VP becomes president. Now, if neither of them are able or willing to run the office, then you have a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-electoral-college-question/640099/6 "2012-11-07T06:33:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The votes for the VP still count, but he essentially resigns from office the instant he is sworn in. The President fills the vacancy the same way he would any other time–nominates someone who is then voted in by Congress. Same thing happens if the President resigns, except the VP becomes president. > > Now, if neither of them are able or willing to run the office, then you have a problem. Yeah, this is how it works for just about every other office. The votes still count, but there’s some defined process for what happens when the term starts and the winner isn’t there anymore.