Does election by the House of Representatives violate political equality?

The notion that election by the House of Representatives could favor smaller states hinges on the principle of representation and how electoral votes are allocated. In the U.S. Congress, smaller states have a disproportionately higher representation in the Senate compared to their population size because each state has two senators regardless of population.

When the House of Representatives elects the President in certain situations, such as when no candidate receives a majority of the Electoral College votes, each state delegation casts one vote. This means that smaller states have the same voting weight as larger states since each state, regardless of the number of representatives, gets only one vote in the House's decision-making process. Thus, the interests and preferences of smaller states can be amplified in such scenarios, which may lead to a situation where the collective will of the population across larger states can be overshadowed by the votes of smaller states.

This arrangement raises questions about political equality, as it does not reflect the population-based representation that is a core element of democratic principles. In essence, favoring smaller states can undermine the equal weighting of votes among the populace, leading to potential discrepancies in how political power is exercised and distributed during elections.