The Electoral College Since the founding of our country, the Electoral College system has been used to determine our President. Established by the founding fathers in the constitution as a compromise between the election of the President through congress and through the popular vote, the Electoral College has become a point of contention for many people across the U.S. This system designates a number of electoral votes per state, and a majority of 270 out of 538 votes are needed to be elected (U.S. Electoral College). As of 2016, only 41% of adults in the United States feel the Electoral College should remain in use (Dutton). A CBS news article stated “By 54 percent to 41 percent, more Americans favor amending the Constitution to elect the …show more content…
The system allows for the voices of the people to be heard through the popular vote and have elected officials make educated decisions based on the opinions of the nation’s citizens. However, the way the Electoral college is set up makes it possible for a candidate to be elected president without the majority of the popular vote (U.S. Electoral College). The combination of the controversial nature of the College and the differing opinions of U.S. citizens leads to a question being asked: Is the Electoral College damaging to the democratic system in United States, or is it a pivotal extension of our democracy? While some U.S. citizens feel that the Electoral College should be abolished, there are those who feel the system plays a key role in our Presidential election. The main argument of those who favor using the Electoral College is that the system was established by the founding fathers in order to safeguard against uninformed voters by putting the final decision in the hands of electors (The Electoral College). By giving electors the final say, many feel as though the final decision is being made by those …show more content…
The argument of those who believe this way has many components. First, the Electoral College is felt to be an outdated system which is no longer necessary for our elections (The Electoral College). Opponents of the College admit that yes, at one point in time, the Electoral College was a necessary component in electing the President of the Union. However, technology has made it so that the information necessary to make informed decisions about voting is available to the majority of voters (The Electoral College). Voters today are more informed than they were back when the constitution was written and, because of that, placing the final vote in the hands of electors rather than the people is unnecessary. Another main issue opponents have is the matter of swing states. Due to the fact that the main political parties can count on securing the electoral votes from certain states due to political ties, the main campaign focus turns to “battleground” states such as Florida where the outcome of the popular vote is unsure, therefore becoming a swing state (The Electoral College). Because of these swing states, some states are deemed more important than others during the election and, because of this, gain more political power. The final main concern of opponents of the Electoral College is the possibility of a minority President being elected.
In a survey conducted by Lydia Saad, “Sixty-three percent would abolish this unique, but sometimes controversial, mechanism for electing presidents that was devised by the framers of the Constitution”. Furthermore, “between 61% and 66% of all major party groups saying they would vote to do away with the Electoral College if they could” (Saad). Most Americans as well as politicians are ready to get rid of the extremely flawed electoral
Following the recent presidential election of Donald Trump, many individuals have been up in arms over whether or not the Electoral College is a fair way to elect the President of the United States. When Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote, yet Donald Trump became president, there were many questions brought up, as to why the Electoral College is still a running system. The Electoral College was made at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, by the Founding Fathers of America. The Founding Fathers held many meetings to decide on a fair way to elect the President. They thought of using a popular vote, but soon realized it would cause too many problems.
The Electoral college was a successful method of election as it eliminated corruption from the process. In The Federalist 68 Alexander Hamilton points out, “They have not made the appointment of President to depend on any preexisting bodies of men, who might be tampered with beforehand to prostitute their votes” (The Federalist 68). The electors have no preconceived notions about the president, and will not allow their votes to be bought out. They are unbiased which allows for a fair and uncorrupt election.
The United States is a government republic, with chose authorities at the elected (national), state and neighborhood levels. On a national level, the head of express, the President, is chosen in a roundabout way by the general population of each state, through an Electoral College. Today, the balloters essentially dependably vote with the well-known vote of their state. All individuals from the government council, the Congress, are straightforwardly chosen by the general population of each state. There are many chosen workplaces at the state level, each state having no less than an elective Governor and council.
The constitution states that the Electoral College should be based on electoral votes rather than the popular vote. Afterward, in order to win the election, a candidate must do the following: he or she must have a majority of the electoral college; therefore, the candidate must try to win most of the states with a high number of electors regardless of the total number of popular-votes earned. The amendment clearly states that in order for a presidential candidate to be nominated he or she needs to win the majority of the Electoral votes and the popular vote doesn't count. Opponents proposed alternatives to the Electoral college; however, none of them seem to work. The alternatives that were proposed fall into three categories.
The electoral college is a good system, it ensures everyone 's vote matters, as well as there is not the chance of either candidate not taking a majority vote, continues the federal system of government established by the founding fathers, and you know you are going to get a winner for
Since the inception of our constitution in 1787, there has only been 4 elections where the Electoral College has allowed the future president-elect candidate to win the election, despite losing the popular vote. 4/57 elections is probably something that political scientists don’t lose sleep over, but it is a topic that is worth mentioning and discussing, especially after the controversial presidential election in 2000. From my point of view, I believe that the method we use in selecting our presidents is flawed and ineffective for a couple of reasons. First, the Electoral College has far fewer votes than the American people, yet their vote has a lot more meaning. With 538 delegates representing the Electoral College, it is unfair and inequitable to the millions of people who devote their time and energy to stand in long
Being a person of politics yourself, you of all people should know that many compromises have been made over the course of the establishment of the United States. However, some of the compromises, like the electoral college, were made because of factors in the past and are now not needed in today’s modern democracy. While the electoral college once worked as a compromise in the past, it is an archaic system that unfairly represents the votes of citizens all across the nation. A popular vote should instead be utilized to fairly choose the people of power in this country and would better represent voters’ opinions. In implementing the electoral college, most states’ votes either go to one candidate or the other, leading to candidates to only campaign in swing states (Bradford Plumer 13).
All through the history of the United States of America, many people have discussed the abolishment of the Electoral College. For many reasons, some believe it is what makes our country have the type of government we have, some believe that it's what limits the power of the government, and many people such as Mitch McConnell believes it is what gives us our freedom and prosperity. While these are valid arguments there is a multitude of reasons to why the electoral college should be abolished. Such as there is only a need for twelve states in order to become the president, popular vote of the people for president can still lose, and the Swing states are given too much power and attention compared to that of the other states. This is why I believe in the abolishment of the Electoral College.
The electoral college creates "Certainty of Results"(Electoral College: Pros & Cons) where it is easier to count, and make sure the count is correct, under 600 votes, as opposed to the billion or so that comes from popular vote. This allows the candidate to call for a "recount" where they are able to count up the votes and make sure that there was no missed votes or misunderstandings which may have been lingering within the vote. The Electoral College also limits the candidate’s ability to pander to certain states or cities for their votes, rather they can appeal to many states, for they all have equal roles. Overall, the Electoral College is a great addition to our republic, and I believe it could be improved, but keep the same
In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. The delegates agreed that the President and Vice President should be chosen informally and not based on the direct popular vote, thus gave birth to the Electoral College. The Electoral College is defined as “a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.” Since 1787 the Electoral College has been the system for voting in the United States, but with our nation ever more changing and growing it
(Black, 2012) So, while it is clear that the Electoral College was set up to ensure all states have a voice, it now seems to have the ability to take away the voice of the people. It is necessary to look at our voting process and make the necessary changes needed to ensure the process of electing our President represents the voice of the people. By switching to a majority vote we ensure that the voice of all people are not only heard, but are represented equally, which is how it should be under the one-person, one-vote
The Electoral College is a longstanding organization in place in the United States of America that was originally established by the Founding Fathers in create equality in presidential elections has become a topic of harsh criticism and controversy over the years. The Electoral College was established by the Founding Fathers of the United States at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in order ensure there was representation of the people while keeping the best interests of the nation in mind (“What is the Electoral College?”). At the time of the writing of the Constitution, there were two main ideas on how to elect a president. The first was that there should be a simple vote of all eligible people and who ever gets the most votes becomes
Several years after the United States came to be, the Constitutional Convention met to determine how the new nation should govern itself. The delegates saw that it was crucial to have a president and vice president, but the delegates did not want these offices to reflect how the colonies were treated under the British rule. The delegates believed that the president’s power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a body of people who represent the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the electing of the president and vice president. Many citizens feel that the Electoral College goes against our nation’s principle of representative democracy, while others
Electoral college has been with us since the birth of the constitution, and to this day we are still using this type of system to this day. The Electoral College is a system that the United States uses to elect our upcoming presidents and vice presidents. Each state has electors equal to their senate member and house of representatives, however who ever gets the highest popular vote in the state gets the electoral vote. The issue is the Electoral College do not give votes to the people, but to the states. Which has some unfair consequences.