The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

For as long as American citizens can remember the assigned method of election for the United States presidency would be the use of the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a process not a place or institution, in this essay I will briefly describe the Electoral College process as well as describe some pros and cons of the electoral college and lastly, I will attempt to answer the controversial question, if you could improve the electoral college, would I choose to abolish or reform the system?

Despite the Electoral College system being founded by the founding fathers in America and being there as long as the Constitution exists, many people still do not have sufficient knowledge on how it works. The Electoral College does not provide honest presidential elections rather it has the potential to undo the will of people at any point from the selection of electors to the vote tallying in Congress (Shaw, 3). Electoral College in the United States has played a major role in depressing the voter's turnout. Every State is given an equal number of electoral votes despite the population and in turn, the system has put in place no measure to encourage the voters to take part in the elections. Besides, the system distorts

The voting process in America appears straightforward, but it is a very complex, complicated system. The Electoral College is America’s current voting system. The Electoral College still serves its intended purpose, but with increasing political activity among Americans it has caused a need to reform this process. Research suggests that the Electoral College system should be amended because it poorly illustrates democracy, is outdated and the majority of Americans are in favor of abolishing the system.

The Electoral College was created in 1787 to protect this country’s voting system. It is a group of 538 members that directly cast the votes to determine who the next president will be. (Green) However, the issues of the present day can’t help but wonder, is the Electoral College’s system outdated and corrupt? My dialogue’s purpose is to defend the Electoral College and show how it still protects us to this day by using evidence from the most recent 2016 election, and prove that it gave us the best candidate suited for the role of the President of the United States.

Every time there is an election in the United States, the debate of Electoral College always heats up, and suddenly everybody seems to know about or at least they are interested in learning about it. The Electoral College is firmly established under the United States Constitution to elect the president and the vice president of the United States indirectly. A slate of “electors” are chosen from each state, and they are the ones responsible for voting for president in the general elections depending on which party the candidate is vying with. From this statement, what it means is that one does not choose his or her preferred leader directly and this has made many suggestions that the Electoral College is not a true representation of democracy. This paper will look at the strongest arguments for and against the Electoral College, analyze whether the current Electoral College should be re-engineered or scrapped in favor of direct vote and finally determine if the Electoral College is consistent or contrary to democratic principle.

In the “Point: Abolishing the Electoral College,” Benjamin Bolinger, a licensed lawyer who can practice law in Colorado and Pennsylvania, argues that the Electoral College needs to be abolished for the American democracy. Bolinger examines that some states with a little population have large number of electoral college compare to those states with larger populations. He believes that the Electoral College damages the value of democratic government by leaving

The Electoral College is a system of electing our President. Each state gets a specific number of electoral votes which are cast by that states electoral slate or group of electors. In 1787, the government extended the Connecticut Compromise to the Electoral College, meaning that the state is allocated their votes based on how many people they have in the Senate (two) and then how many Representative’s they have (Estes 256). This system requires a slate of electors from each of the states that can be selected by the state legislature as stated in the Constitution, “qualified men,” in the early 1790s, meaning male, white, and land

With a Presidential election year upon us, the United States’ national election process will once again take its place at center stage of American politics. 200 years after the Electoral College’s creation, it still serves its intended purpose, but the increasing social and political awareness in America has caused a need to look at reform in this process. The question that should be asked by every citizen as they participate in the vote next year is if the Electoral College enables the wishes of the people to be truly represented? Reforming the practice of choosing the American President, though, would have Constitutional implications and the political philosophy of our country would be subject to much discussion. Through analyzing the

Currently, many believe that the Electoral College is outdated and the general public does not support it overall. In order to solve this problem, the College should not be abolished altogether as others have proposed in the past, as that solution is too quick to be swatted down. Instead the College should be altered to further reflect modern times and the need for the popular vote to mean more. This amendment would bring reassurance to the general public, including the country’s differing demographics, such as the white working class. All could therefore be convinced that their votes matter. More people would then go to the polls. Once more citizens voted, then an administration that is trusted would be in office and could continue work to better strengthen and reinvigorate our

The United States, well known for its democracy, holds elections every four years to elect its President. Every American citizen over the age of 18 has a right to cast a vote in the presidential election. The voting process, although it seems easy and straightforward, can be very complicated. In the 2000 election, Al Gore captured the majority of votes, but George Bush won. The reason for this strange outcome and why Al Gore lost was because of the Electoral College. The Electoral College is voting system where different states are given a certain amount of votes in the election, and which ever candidate wins a state, is given that state’s votes. The Electoral College is out of date, and should be replaced by the Popular Vote system,

The electoral college was established by Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution (“The Electoral College”). The Founding Fathers craved the democratic values they were forbidden under King George II; however, they feared unrestrained democracy that had ruined great nations (Stepman). Therefore, they created a process that elected the president through both a Congressional vote and a national vote. The system consists of three main processes. First, the parties choose their electors. The

The Electoral College is impeding on the principle of a republic form of government where the supreme power is derived from the consent of the people. The states’ ‘winner takes all’ method leaves many people wondering whether their vote impacts the election. For instance, if 45% of people in California decide to vote for Candidate A, 35% vote for Candidate B, and 20% vote for Candidate C, all fifty-five votes in the Electoral College go to Candidate A. This method does not reflect the majority opinion of the citizens because 55% oppose Candidate A, yet the current system would give all of the voted to this candidate. Many citizens feel their voice isn't being heard because of instances that happen every election similar to the above example. Rather than creating divisions throughout the fifty sovereign states linked together by thin strings, the states need to unite as one country with similar political, economical, and social ideas without special preference to the ‘swing states’. The Electoral College creates a division throughout the country and precipitates inferiority in states that receive a minuscule amount of campaigning attention from the presidential

The Electoral College has been in place since the founding of our country and has been the system in which every president in the history of the United States has been voted into power. Put into place so southern states with a extremely light voting population during the time of slavery wouldn’t revolt and would have a more significant impact in politics than otherwise1, the Electoral College has 538 electors total and requires a 270 majority in order for a nominee to become president, with each state having as many votes as they have members of Congress2. However, in recent years people have begun questioning whether it is truly a democratic system, or if it compromises equal representation.

Recently, doubt of the fairness of the Electoral College has been in the minds of countless individuals. Many questions have been being asked about the Electoral College, questions like “Why does it exist?” “Does it really work?” and “Should it still exist?” All these questions have arose due to the recent 2016 election results. In this election, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote by a significant amount, yet he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. The fact that this could even happen baffles many people. “In addition to 2016, there have been four other times in American history – 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000 – when the candidate who won the Electoral College lost the national popular vote” (Speel). Our Founding Fathers debated over weeks deciding on how the president of our country should be chosen. The Electoral College was the result of these debates and has been the system ever since 1789. Many of the reasons that the Framers of the Constitution had for creating the Electoral College at that time are what makes this system necessary today. The Electoral College should not be reformed or abolished because

Since its foundation, The Electoral College has dealt with a dispute between those who trust in the benefits of the electoral procedure and those who view it as inimical. I on the other hand support the perspective of the Electoral College being unfavorable and believe that the Electoral College should be abolished, as it evolves around numerous dilemmas, including the concernment of the popular