Burdett Loomis and Byron E. Shafer bring up good points in their own arguments either for or against the electoral college and for this debate, I agree with Shafer, but not necessarily for the same reasons. While Shafer is concerned with the effects the EC has on partisan polarization, the reason I believe the EC is a crucial part of the American presidency is that the stakes are so high that electors are much better suited to provide better representation for the political beliefs of our country. The reasons I believe this are as follows: state culture plays a role when determining a population’s political beliefs, a direct majority vote method would lead to further polarization, and the electors truly know the importance of the election.  

Regardless of how one might feel about the way citizens vote, state culture plays a massive role in determining political partisanship and ideology (Erikson, 803). With this fact being known, if the EC was thrown in favor of a popular vote, states with massive populations and are already politically determined states, such as California, would have an overwhelming amount of votes directed towards a candidate. Thus, it would create a situation where other states feel robbed of their representation due to their population numbers. This would then create even further division among American citizens.  The electors also understand what is at stake and take proper measures to ensure they are informed about the candidates, the same cannot be said for your average voters. Voter turnout and knowledge are already a crisis and having the EC ensures that each vote is carefully considered. All this being said, the EC is the only way to ensure representation in the United States as this country grows in population.

Works Cited

https://www-jstor-org.uaf.idm.oclc.org/stable/1962677?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contentsErikson, Robert S., John P. McIver, and Gerald C. Wright. “State Political Culture and Public Opinion.” The American Political Science Review 81, no. 3 (1987): 797–813. https://doi.org/10.2307/1962677.