Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is defending the Electoral College as Democrats increasingly talk about eliminating it, warning that doing away with the system would hand presidential elections to a handful of large, Democrat-leaning cities.
The Electoral College, established by the Constitution, decides the presidency through state-by-state results rather than a single national popular vote. DeSantis argues the system exists precisely because the United States is a republic, not a pure democracy, and that the Founders built in filtering mechanisms so the will of the people would be channeled toward the public good while preserving the role of individual states.
The Electoral College reflects the fact that the US is a republic. The Founders wanted a constitutional system based on the consent of the governed, but they wanted filtering mechanisms so that the will of the people would be channeled towards the public good. And they wanted the role of the states respected.
DeSantis also points out that the system prevents a candidate from simply running up huge margins in one region of the country, calling this a safeguard built for an “extended republic” like the United States. He notes it tends to produce a clearer, more decisive outcome — citing Bill Clinton’s 1992 win, where Clinton took just 43% of the popular vote but a strong majority in the Electoral College. The system also keeps election administration centered in individual states, which DeSantis says reduces complications in close national races.
We should be doing more to bolster federalism and the role states play, not further weaken them. There is no reason to change the Electoral College.
Without the Electoral College, presidential campaigns would effectively be decided by voters in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, leaving states like Vermont, Iowa, Arizona and Alaska with little practical say in who wins the White House.
The push to eliminate the Electoral College has gained traction among some Democrats. A widely circulated claim states that Vice President Kamala Harris said that if Democrats regain full control of government, they would push to pack the Supreme Court with left-wing judges, abolish the Electoral College, and grant statehood to Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico — a move that would add four Democrat-aligned Senate seats.
Critics argue such changes would fundamentally reshape the country’s constitutional structure, running counter to the system of government the Founders designed. For now, Republicans control the White House, giving President Trump veto power over any such push. But the debate over the Electoral College’s future is expected to continue well past the current term, with DeSantis positioning himself as one of its most prominent defenders heading into future election cycles.
