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Question 49 of 128 · American Government · System of Government

Why is the Electoral College important?

Accepted answers

  • It decides who is elected president.
  • It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection.

Any one of these is accepted, unless the question asks for more than one.

Why this is the answer

Americans vote for President in November, but the votes formally choose electors in each state, as many as the state has senators and representatives combined, and it is the electors who elect the President. That body is the Electoral College, and it decides who wins. The Founders chose it as a middle path between two options they distrusted: letting Congress pick the President, and a single direct national vote. Alexander Hamilton defended the design in Federalist No. 68. Memory hook: the people vote for electors, and the electors vote for President.