The Electoral College is the system in the government that decides the president, whereby electoral votes are given to the states based on population. In order for the President to be elected, they need 270 votes from the Electoral College.

In this most recent election, Donald Trump finished with 304 votes in the Electoral College, whereas Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote with 65,844,954 votes. Because Trump won in the Electoral College, even though Clinton won the national popular vote during the 2016 presidential election, Trump still won the presidency.

Because of this, the issue of the Electoral College has created controversy. Much like Americans across the country, NKHS students have many different beliefs about this issue, and some have agreed to share their opinions.

One person that was interviewed said that the Electoral College should be removed completely. This student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Even if it affects Rhode Island, it still is better for the country as a whole.”

Meanwhile, sophomore Max Therrien said that the Electoral College should stay, but electors should have to vote for whom the people in their state vote in order to give the popular vote more influence. Therrien also stressed that there should be more awareness regarding the Electoral College as a whole.

Likewise, junior Oscar Goodkin believes that the Electoral College is good the way it is, but that the popular vote should have more of an impact than it currently does.