The Case for Proportional Allocation of Presidential Electors

Abstract

Jabari Zakiya

Currently there are 538 electors distributed among the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC). To become President, the U.S. Constitution requires a candidate must receive the Electoral College vote of a majority of electors (270), but it doesn’t specify, or mandate, the manner in which electors shall be allocated by the states to candidates. The practice has become to allocate electors on a winner-take-all basis to whichever candidate merely wins a plurality (not even a majority) of the popular vote in each state. Presented here is a simple and fair method to proportionally allocate electors from each state, in a transparent and reproducible manner, based solely on mathematical considerations. This will create a host of benefits to voters and the country, resulting in more fair and democratic electoral outcomes.

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