And why are we still following this arcane, racist system?

There are certain mysteries that will never be solved. What is the meaning of life? Is there life after death? And what in the hell is the Electoral College?

I’m exaggerating, of course, but the fact remains that the purpose and activities of the Electoral College make answering the first two questions a piece of cake.

Election Day is fast approaching. There’s no better time than the present to take a closer look at the Electoral College. Here are some basic facts and a couple of leads for those wishing to take a deep dive into the whys and wherefores of the labyrinthine EC.

But how did this all start?

The Berkeley School explains the EC’s origins:

When the Constitution was drafted in 1787, the framers needed a system to elect the president. One group of delegates wanted the president to be elected through a popular vote (the votes cast by citizens), while other delegates wanted Congress to decide the election. They then made a compromise and the Electoral College was formed. 

We’re all familiar with the concept of “one person, one vote.” We assume that we choose our officials by voting for them. Yes…and no. As the Berkeley School says, it’s a compromise that plays out like this — as described in Al Jazeera:

US presidents are not elected by the national popular vote: the total number of votes each candidate receives. Instead, a group of 538 so-called “electors” select the president. These electors make up the Electoral College.

You may recall that in the not-too-distant past, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore both decisively won the popular vote in their quests for the White House but lost their bids for the presidency because their opponents wound up with more electoral votes.

If you think it’s insane that you can win the popular vote but still lose the election, you’re not alone. This bothers a lot of folks, many of whom insist that the voice of the people should be the sole factor in determining just who’ll be running our government. (We’ll set that topic aside for the moment.)

Back to the Electoral College, the process is made up of three steps:

First, each state selects its electors. According to the National Archives, a state “has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators.” When Washington, D.C.’s electors are thrown in, the total is 538.

On Election Day we go to the polls and vote. In an overwhelming majority of states, the candidate who wins receives all of a state’s electoral votes.

 Second, the electors meet and cast their votes.

Third, Congress counts the electoral votes. The candidate who has more than 270 votes — more than half of the 538 — is declared the winner of the election.

In a massive nutshell, that’s how it works.

Questions about the continuing validity of the Electoral College are frequently raised. Stephanie Russell-Kraft in Sojourners writes:

The Electoral College system favors voters in a small group of battleground states at the expense of most Americans and over-represents white voters while ignoring many voters of color…“The history of the Electoral College is not anything to be proud of,” said John Kowal, vice president for programs at the Brennan Center for Justice and an expert on the Electoral College. “At the root of it is a distrust of voters and a desire to appease the slave-holding South by giving them more power.”

Created as a compromise, used as a tool to create and maintain privilege for some at the expense of the rights of others, it’s tough to make a case for the Electoral College. There’s more to read and see on this complicated subject and it’s all just a click or two away.

One more thing. Regardless of how you feel about the Electoral College…get out and vote.