Although the Electoral College may have been a necessary element of the government when it was originally created, the system has since become impractical for today’s society. The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. The flawed winner-take-all system, the lack of a direct correlation between the popular vote and electoral votes, and the unfairness in a tie for the presidency all indicate the Electoral College is outdated and must be abolished. In the current electoral system, the slightest majority in a particular state means all of the votes in that state are given to the candidate that wins the majority. All of the other votes in the state for the …show more content…
The percentage of the popular vote does not always necessarily correlate to a similar percentage in electoral votes. For example, in the 1980 presidential race between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, Reagan won 50.7% of the popular vote. However, Reagan won 91% of the total electoral votes. Carter, who had won 41% of the popular vote had only 9% of the electoral votes (Doc B). Although this example is more hyperbolic than most races, it illustrates the point that electoral votes do not always reflect what is shown in the popular vote. Some states, particularly ones with smaller populations, are given more electoral votes than their population should denote due to their automatic extra two senatorial votes. The twelve smallest states and Washington D.C. combine for 44 electoral votes with only 12.5 million votes. The states of Illinois has a total of 12.8 million people, but only has 20 electoral votes, less than half of the electoral votes the small states possess (Doc D). The lack of correlation shown in this example epitomizes the issues the Electoral College …show more content…
In such a situation, the House of Representatives are responsible for breaking the tie, with each state only receiving a single vote despite how many representatives that state has in Congress. This means that Wyoming, a state with only 500,000 people, will have the same say in a tie as California, a state that represents over 35 million voters (Doc F). This inclusion in the college contradicts the very essence of democracy as the will of the people is not truly being expressed. Although a tie rarely happens in the Electoral College, the possibility of one occurring with such a flawed and weak system further proves that the Electoral College is not a system that should be in place any
Walter E. Williams discuss how Hillary Clinton blamed the electoral college for her losing the presidential election. Williams stated that many individuals believed that the electoral college is dangerous when it comes to American politics. Individuals also claims that there are three electoral votes, or one electoral vote per 200,000 people in the state of Wyoming which was another factor that weight in the presidential election. In California, one electoral vote equals 715,000 people. Williams also stated that there a lot of individual who complain about using the electoral college since they believe that it’s undemocratic.
The Electoral College frequently results in a distinct presidential winner despite the popular vote being level. The pie charts of the 1980 presidential election, gathered from various sources, compares the percentage of popular votes and electoral votes for each candidate. Ronald Reagan, who won this election, appeared to only win with 50.7% of the popular vote. However, Reagan actually won the presidency with 91% of the electoral votes. The Electoral College made it appear as though Reagan dominated the election.
In its favor, one may argue that it supports smaller states, creates more stability within the election due to the two-party system, and prevents the chances of recounting votes. However, the Electoral College is also believed to be “complicated” by cause of its unique representative system, persuade candidates into giving more attention to the smaller states, and be a magnet for faithless Electors, or Electors who decide to not vote for their party’s candidate (Veracity
The smaller states rule the elections because they have the most power. “The states with the most electoral votes in California with 55, and Texas with 38” (Document A), which isn’t fair with some smaller states having only 3. Also each state doesn’t have the equal amount of votes, and the smaller states have more power behind their votes. “Each state casts only one vote, the single representative from Wyoming,
Most candidates in the race have to win certain states because of how big they are. But if the electoral college were to be abolished these smaller states would not really matter in the election at all. The number of electors must be “equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives” (Document 2). Since these two types of committees are based on the population it must be equal, not less or more. This system also allowed Washington DC to have three electoral votes, it is a system that lets these little states to have a vote.
In 2000, George W. Bush won the presidency against his competitors--but not because the citizenry chose him. The Electoral College did. He received 543, 895 less votes than his competitor Albert Arnold Gore Jr (Doc G). However, he got more electoral votes, so he was the one sitting in the
Maansi Dasari Mr. Morris AP English 3 12 January 2017 The Electoral College: The last remnant of slavery Amidst the chaos of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, emerges a cacophony of voices screaming for Electoral College reform. Many are angered by the results, others are confused: how can one candidate receive nearly three million more votes than the other and still lose the election? The Electoral College has been the United States’ method for electing a president since the Constitution was ratified, and this is far from the first time that it has been criticized.
On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December of a leap year, five hundred and thirty eight electors travel to their state capitol buildings to decide who is the next president of the United States of America. They take an oath, and cast the official ballots for the presidential election. The problem is that this system is not fair. So, which way of electoral college reform is the best? In this essay, some options for electoral college reform are introduced, and the best one is chosen.
Although many have debated on their reasoning, the Electoral College system may be a noteworthy cause. As a democratic nation by the people and for the people, citizens feel betrayed when they believe that their vote isn’t worth anything. Therefore, the system they thought they knew and loved fails them. It is essential for citizen’s voices to be heard in a sea of dispute and many see their vote as a method for this to take place. However, when an unpopular candidate is elected President by a small margin it is understandable to believe
Albert 1 Brekon Albert Government 2A Mr. Baker 28, February 2023 Electoral College Argumentative Essay The Electoral College is the greatest method for electing our President of the United States. It will ensure that the interest of every state is represented, and it will avoid any situations where a few populous states would dominate the entire outcome of the election taking place.
The people who live in Wyoming, Vermont, and Rhode Island all have a heavier hand in the election due to their low population, this is unfair because although the point of the Electoral College is to keep power out of any one person’s hands, it is not fairly dispersing power to the people within the different states. According to Chris Derosa, he too believes this, “The first problem with the Electoral College is that it gives more weight to voters in small states than those in more populous ones, says DeRosa,” (Nuemann). Yes, the point of the Electoral College is to keep the fate of the election out of any one man’s hands, and it still does that; this is exactly why citizens have voted for themselves for 200 years. The population might be smaller in these states but think about the uses of their land; Wyoming’s unpopulated land is used for mineral refining and national forests and parks. Vermont’s land is used for forestry that allows people to build homes across the country, North Dakota’s unpopulated land is mainly used for agriculture.
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.
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
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