Electoral College Bias: New at Reason

Recent electoral results put the lie to the notion of a rural Republican bias in the makeup of our Electoral College, Phillip Magness writes.

The emphasis on disproportionate electoral power of rural states out west not only obscures famously left-leaning New England and its mid-Atlantic neighbors. It also distracts attention away from where the actual electoral battles tend to take place—medium-to-large population swing states like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

It’s true that, through Electoral College quirks, these states can determine the outcome of the presidency. It’s also often the case that non-competitive large population states like California, New York, and Texas may see their voting power diminished nationally, creating the circumstances in which a candidate could lose the popular vote and yet win the presidency. But note that none of these characteristics are exclusive to Republican-leaning rural states, which largely see their clout canceled out by Democrat-leaning small states.

There’s little doubt that the country is currently divided between distinctive and sometimes sharply-partisan political poles. But it’s time we cast off the conspiratorial talking points that suggest the Constitution electorally disadvantages a latent “progressive” popular will. These unhelpful claims of a constitutionally rigged outcome lack any basis in the realities of our current electoral math.

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