The Influence Of The Electoral College

A democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Sixty-five out of the world’s 125 democracies choose their leaders through direct election by voters. Thirty other democracies are classified as constitutional monarchies. The remaining thirty are classified as indirect election. However, only the United States has a system in which voters elect a body of electors, whose only purpose is to choose the president. This system is known as the Electoral College, which was established by the Founding Fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. There are many ways of choosing the leader of a nation to represent

the people, the more popular categories being: direct election, constitutional monarchies, and the Electoral College.
In a direct democracy, all citizens are involved in the decision making process through a direct vote. Since people are able to express their concerns directly, greater government accountability results. The Athens were the first to practice a direct democracy. While it excluded women, slaves, and immigrants from voting, Athenian direct democracy required all citizens to vote on all prominent issues of government. Sweden also practices a modified form of direct democracy-- everyone has the same rights and is free to scrutinize how politicians and public agencies exercise their power. Swedish citizens can vote to veto any law enacted by the nation’s elected legislative branch. When people are allowed to speak their minds in a direct democracy, far less unrest and civil disobedience occurs. Citizens who know that their opinion matters are more willing to participate in things that will improve the society that they currently live in, as opposed to tearing it down. However, in a direct democracy, deciding whose are not important is a decision that can be made easily. Voters tend to look after their self-interests, rather than the larger picture of what needs doing. Between all issues considered by local, state and federal governments in direct elections, we might never decide on an anything. As a result of non-stop debating, public involvement would drop and a small percentage of people could eventually control the government. Additionally, opponents of direct democracy argue that the system would be nearly impossible to implement on a large scale. Setting up voting areas and times for every single law, bill, and policy change would hinder and delay the development of a nation.
A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government. Proponents of a constitutional monarchy argue that the system creates continuity: monarchs are born into their role and rule their entire lifetime. This type of monarchy allows a country to build a strong connection with other governments and the citizens themselves. Thus, history, culture and tradition throughout the years is preserved. The United Kingdom uses the constitutional monarchy as its political system, but today the monarchy’s role is largely ceremonial and a symbol of tradition. In addition, advocates of constitutional monarchies argue that monarchs are suited to rule and have the qualities to run a nation—future Kings or Queens start at a very young age and honed to be rulers since birth. Despite the culture that is preserved with a constitutional monarchy, the system puts power in someone who was not chosen by the will of the people. Furthermore, the monarch cannot be removed regardless of how corrupt or incompetent they may be. For instance, the only child of King Henry V, King Henry VI, ascended to the throne at just eight months and twenty-five days old, and Mary Queen of Scots ascended the throne at just six days old. All throughout history, people who are not suited to rule over a nation have done so under a constitutional monarchy, simply because they were born into a royal family.
Americans elect the President and Vice President through a method of indirect popular election, known as the Electoral College as specified in the twelfth amendment.

On the first Tuesday in November, voters cast their ballots for a presidential candidate. These votes count towards a group of electors who pledge a vote for a specific candidate in the Electoral College. Acknowledging the strong regional interests and loyalties which have played a large part in American history, proponents argue that the Electoral College system contributes to the unity of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support in order for a candidate to be elected president. Without such system, the president of the United States would be chosen through the domination of large urban areas over rural areas. As a result, residents in Idaho and Wyoming would be ignored in favor of California and Texas, leaving rural areas and small towns marginalized. Thus, the Electoral College system enhances minority status. Even though the Electoral College protects minority interests, the candidate that the majority of American citizens want as their president will not necessarily win over the presidency. Because each state gets two electors for its senators regardless of population, less populated states are overrepresented. One of the key reasons that George W. Bush won the Electoral College vote against Al Gore in the 2000 election without winning the popular vote was that he did better in the smaller states. Bush narrowly won the election, with 271 electoral votes to Gore’s 266, but lost the popular vote. In the recent election of 2016, despite the fact that Hillary Clinton won almost three million more votes in the general election than Donald Trump, Trump won the Electoral College and the presidency. Just as in 2000 when George W. Bush received fewer nationwide popular votes than Al Gore, Donald Trump will serve as the President of the United States despite being supported by fewer

Americans than his opponent. The winner-take-all principle of the Electoral College risks the possibility of electing a minority president, thus failing to represent the national popular will.
The system by which the people are governed differs from nation to nation. Governments are categorized by several types, some of the more popular types are: democracy, republic, monarchy, aristocracy, and dictatorship. While the system in which the United States has utilized to elect a president has functioned for over 200 years and in over 50 presidential elections, it fails to represent our democracy and, therefore, should be abolished. According to Alexander Hamilton, the Electoral College is if "not perfect, it is at least excellent," because it ensured "that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications." Although the Electoral College was a favorable concept of selecting the president in the 18th century, the system is irrelevant in today’s high-tech society. Just as several voting laws that limited direct democracy in the Constitution have been modified or discarded throughout history, so should the Electoral College. The United States has grown tremendously and has handled millions of new developments, and it can handle a new voting system.