ipl-logo

Electoral College Pros And Cons

1374 Words6 Pages

The Electoral College While some people believe their votes are contributing directly to the election of the President, most people are aware that their votes mean almost nothing compared to those of the Electoral College. The Electoral College consists of the electors who cast each state’s electoral votes. It is made up of 538 electors, each state having the same number of electors as Senate and House members combined, plus three votes from the District of Columbia. “To win the presidency, a candidate must receive at least 270 votes” and win the majority (Patterson 359). During the constitutional convention of 1787, the attending delegates decided to develop a system in which “the president was to be chosen by electors picked by the states” (Patterson …show more content…

“Florida's 29 electoral votes make it the biggest prize among the swing states” and it is one of the most “contested states in recent elections” (EFE World News Service). Not only is Florida a state that candidates want to win, but also other large and swing states such as Texas, California, New York, Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, smaller states receive very little attention and very few campaign visits, if any. This means that candidates are completely omitting huge geographic areas simply because they don’t house a lot of electoral votes. It is extremely disappointing that most of the states in the U.S. are not being visited for campaigns simply because the electoral votes hold so much importance. If the Electoral College did not exist, the presidential candidates would feel more obligated to visit every state, or at least more than they do now. However, I do think the Electoral College does a respectable job at representing minority states, so I don’t think it should be completely abolished. Instead, it needs to be

Open Document