The 2016 presidential election has been one of the most controversial elections in American history. Conversation and arguments stirred when Donald Trump won the electoral college, but Hillary won the popular vote (by around 1 percent and still counting). People started to argue about the relevance of the electoral college.

What even is the electoral college? It’s the system that the United States Government uses in order to elect the president. It was established in the constitution, making it one of the keystones of our government. It consists of members of political party supporters. The amount of electoral votes from each state is roughly proportional to its population.

Opponents of the electoral college argue that it’s outdated; they say that it was designed for the Victorian-era America, and only the Victorian-era America. They say that it’s undemocratic, and reduces the political power of the constituents.

Junior Gabe Welch said, “I understand why they made it back then, but now it’s useless; it would be easier just to do a popular vote.”

In their eyes, the representative electoral system is voter suppression.

Supporters of the electoral college argue that it’s necessary; it was designed to protect the interests of the minority. They say that it accounts for everyone’s interests—including those residing in regions that are sparsely populated.

Junior Trent Deevers said, “The electoral college gives smaller states the ability to decide who the next president will be since it gives them more of a say since it gives them at least three electoral votes.”

Supporters say it is necessary to prevent only the most popular states from getting their way.

Who’s wrong? No one is, really. However, the electoral college exists for a reason. If the presidential election was based of of popular vote, then the president would be essentially chosen by the 9 most populous states—California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina, respectively (2010 Census). While every vote would matter, those states would be highly campaigned in during an election. 

Another reason is the federalist system. One of the biggest pillars in the America is states’ rights. The constitution allows states to pass certain laws of their own, such as tax increases, recreational marijuana and gun control laws. If the election was by popular vote, then 41 states would have to abide by the choice of the top 9 most populous states.  All states get a say in who becomes president with this method. This is essentially how a republic works.

Is the electoral college outdated? Is it undemocratic? Who knows? Those who want to remove the electoral college are more than welcome to do so, though doing so might veer America further away from the constitutional republic that the founding fathers intended to establish.