At first when seeing Electoral College in high school, I thought it was a place that you go to school. Silly me, I didn’t know anything about the government and how it was ran or what makes up the government. I really didn’t start learning about the government until the 10th grade, when I took American Government with Mr. Evans. If he never did anything else, he made sure that we knew about the government and how and why it was ran the way it was ran.
He taught us that Electoral College is something that some people are for and others are against. Electoral College is an action that take place in order to find out who will be running for president and vice president. On July 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention the Framers established the Electoral College action in the Constitution. They
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wanted to make it not only easier on Congress, but fair to the citizen of the US. Before the Electoral College existed some of The Framers were in favor of the Congress doing all the electing of a president to run the new nation they started. But they knew that they didn’t want to be under the same followings of the European government which was a Parliamentary System. This system means every decision and rule making would be done by that one branch of government. They just had left from being under that kind of ruling, so they knew they needed a change. Congress takes a big part in the Electoral College because they are the ones that decide who will be on the ballot to be run for presidency. As stated on the NARA federal website, “The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by the Congress”. The counting of the electoral votes doesn’t mean counting hundreds of billion votes for the election. But consists of 538 electors. The runner must have majority of those votes of 270. Various people are for it, while others are against it. On one hand you have people saying that it give the people a role in the decision of presidency. But some people are arguing that it’s too difficult to understand how the whole system works. One of the most difficult and unfair thing about the system is how it work. When you’re casting your voting if you vote for a candidate that is democratic but you state is republican your vote won’t count. That vote will go to whatever your state goes for. Many people think that’s unfair because what’s the purpose of them voting if they vote is going to go to the other party. Many people are against the Electoral College because the loser of the presidency election may end up becoming the vice president. A lot people think that if you didn’t when the presidential elector why should you become vice president. They both work hand in hand when making the decision for the nation. Another reason why a multitude of people dislike the Electoral College is because of the unfair voting power. If you live in a smaller state you vote may count more than a bigger state. Many people think that would be classified as winning by a default. Fair Vote research shows that smaller state counts three more than bigger states. They’re many different reform option to the electoral colleges: Instant Runoffs, Proportional allocation of electoral vote, Direct Vote with Plurality Rule, Congressional District Method, National Bonus Plan, Binding Proposal, and Removing the Electors. Having the voters vote for one specific person, they would vote for multiply candidates. Not meaning have many different presidents but rate would they like the best and who they like the least. This kind of system is called instant runoff votes. This kind of system has a flaw also. With Instant runoff votes, if no one has majority of the people votes. The person with the lowest amount of votes will be president. This reform just make the system even worst. The Proportional allocation of electoral vote system would divide the candidate popularity votes up in each state. The person with the most votes gets that state. Whereas the contender that didn’t get that state would receive the votes to his or her average votes from all the states. This reform is confusing to me because that would make both candidate equal at the end. How would you know which party won what? Another reform to the Electoral College is Direct Vote with Plurality Rule. With this kind of reform both candidates would get a vote. This reform to me doesn’t oppose a threat to the voting system to me. It actually help me understand the system a little bit better. Even though this reform would stop the Electoral College all together. It would make sure that the best man wins in the end. Each person votes counts toward the person they voted for. The next reform is the Congressional District Method.
Instead of taking each state vote as one. This reforms divide the votes up by the district and the extra votes would be given to the individual that has the most votes. As stated on the Fair Vote website, “basing electoral vote allocation on congressional districts as well would raise the stakes of redistricting considerably and make gerrymandering even more tempting”. I agree with them. The Congressional District already have enough problems on their hand. We shouldn’t add another one.
The National Bonus plan reform to the Electoral College is piggy back of the original Electoral College concept. But it believe in give the winner of the popular vote more votes. This reform would make the candidate with the most popularity votes win the electoral race.
The Binding Proposal is a reform I’m against from the start. This reform wants to amend the constitution. I believe that the constitution has built us to be a great nation. And no one should try to amend, alter, or abolish it at all.
The last reform is Removing the Elector. This reform thinks that stopping the election would stop the problem with the Electoral
College. Yes the Electoral College does has its flaws. But it’s something that our great nation has stood up on for this many years. I believe in the saying if it’s not broke don’t fix it. Electoral College it’s one of the biggest problems, the people that are trying to run this nation are the problem.
If the Electoral College stays, then the people will not be able to choose the right person for the right job. So this shows how it can cause so many people to be frustrated with the Electoral College, which does not really help the country at all, in terms of the choosing a new President.
The Electoral College started in 1789, even then controversy arose. Key factors supporting the Electoral College are representation in states with a small population, prioritizes the organization of campaigns, and provides equality throughout the United States. Candidates would campaign in the major populous regions, overlooking rural area. Virtually placing emphasis in the major cities, neglecting small towns leaving them obsolete. Keep America a two-party system intact in important, how could a candidate win the majority with four or five parties. The South would vote their candidate, California their candidate, East Coast their candidate, causing an enormous problem, avoiding a recount, saving time and
The Electoral College is the name given to a group of electors who are nominated by political activists and party members within the states. The electoral college really isn't necessary and should be abolished. There are numerous reasons why this is so. With the Electoral College in affect third parties don't have a chance to become the president, which isn't fair. Electors are expected to be honest but in the past our country has caught some untruthful ones. The electoral College was created so long ago that it is now outdated, so we shouldn't even have electors. People of the U.S. may think that they are participating in a direct election for the president, but with the Electoral College system technically, this isn't the case.
The Electoral College has been the favored method by the United States to elect the president for many years. When the College was first created in 1787 it was seen as an efficient and reliable way to vote the president into office. It has been more than 2 centuries since this method of electing was chosen and many things have changed in U.S. society. The Electoral College is failing to keep up with these advancements in society and a new method must be chosen soon.
Due to the discrepancy between the winner of the popular vote and the winner of the electoral college in the most recent election, there has been a lot of talk about eliminating the electoral college and moving to a direct popular vote. While many people argue for this shift, usually with little knowledge of what a popular vote election would look like, there are also many citizens who are opposed to the idea. In our polarized political climate, this fact is not surprising. Those who support the electoral college defend it by claiming that it is not only constitutional, but it also represents the whole county, and makes for a more certain, legitimate election process.
The Electoral College was created by the framers at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. They believe that it wasn’t a good idea for the people to elect the president directly because they did not trust that voters would have enough information to make a good choice. The Electoral College basically chooses who the next president will be since it takes away our freedom to vote away. The Electoral College should be abolished because it’s undemocratic, the small states are overrepresented, and it hurts third parties.
The United States of America is often touted as the guiding beacon of democracy for the entirety of the modern world. In spite of this tremendous responsibility the political system of the United States retains some aspects which upon examination appear to be significantly undemocratic. Perhaps the most perplexing and oft misunderstood of these establishments is the process of electing the president and the institution known as the Electoral College. The puzzle of the Electoral College presents the American people with a unique conundrum as the mark of any true democracy is the citizens’ ability to elect their own ruling officials. Unfortunately, the Electoral College system dilutes this essential capacity by introducing an election by
Voting is at the center of every democratic system. In america, it is the system in which a president is elected into office, and people express their opinion. Many people walk into the voting booth with the thought that every vote counts, and that their vote might be the one that matters above all else. But in reality, America’s voting system is old and flawed in many ways. Electoral College is a commonly used term on the topic of elections but few people actually know how it works.
In America, voting for the President is a privilege and a lie. Many Americans think when they go to the polls in November, they are voting for the President of the United States; but really, they are voting for a group of electors who have pledged to support a nominee for the President. The Founding Fathers were concerned that presidents would always come from a populous state and wondered whether the public would have the knowledge of various candidates necessary to make a wise selection. They did not have access to technology like the internet or smart phones as we do. In most states, as the result of the election, the state awards all its electors to the winning candidate (Belenky 1308). A Presidential a candidate must win 270 Electoral
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 gave birth to the Electoral College system. The Electoral College system can be briefly described as a system where voters are able to vote for candidates(electors) on election day. Electors then cast their vote for a candidate in their respective party. Our Founding Fathers described the electoral college system in Article
The Electoral College Should Be Abolished Many years after the United States was founded, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself; they later came to settle on the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a system in which the president and vice president are chosen indirectly. In general, the delegates did not believe that a direct popular vote was acceptable, however that it should be decided by the US senators and representatives instead. The way in which it works: a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes to be officially declared president. If no candidate obtains a majority, the US Representatives selects the president from the top three contenders; this means each state receives
The Electoral College today is a very complex system of voting and campaigning. When it was first created, the Framers thought the average citizen of their day was not intelligent enough to know who should be leading their country. So they created the Electoral College which was run by people who knew what they were doing. The Electoral College is a body of people who represent each state and they determine the president. The real question is: Has the Electoral College gotten too far out of hand where it needs to go? The answer is yes. The reasons are because any third party candidate running in the election has no chance of winning any electoral votes. Also, it gives too much power to the big states in electoral votes. Finally, it creates problems on majority electoral votes and equality of smaller states is diminished.
Originating in 1787, the Electoral College was created as the official body within American politics that elect the president and vice president. The decision of who will win is based off the vote totals in each state, and “the founding fathers established it in the constitution as
In the United States we are all guaranteed one vote per person. Everyone has an equal voice in electing the people that serve in the government. Every four years during the month of November citizens of America go to the polls to vote for a president and vice-president of the United States. Am I right? Not really. They actually vote for electors that then vote for our president. It makes me wonder, "Are we a democracy?" Having the Electoral College defeats its purpose. I oppose the electoral college for these three reasons, in election 2000 the president that lost the popular vote actually won, everyone's vote doesn't really count, plus the electoral college has disrupted elections fifteen times!
...lity of the votes (Shugart 632). Each states would be important under such a system, as candidates would be forced to address as many voters as possible, not just "voting blocs" that could swing a plurality in the state and, therefore, the entire state. More people would participate in elections because they would know that every vote did indeed count.