According to the National Archives, the Electoral College is, “...a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.'' The Electoral College was created in the late 1700’s, and was used as a buffer between the voting population and the official selection of the president. For the founding fathers, this solved a wide array of problems: the possible risk of leaving the power of choosing who the leader of the country to ill -informed voters, unequal representation and distribution of votes between the North and South of the U.S., and supported the idea of separation between powers in the government. In this country, it has been believed that the government has been built off of popular sovereignty, the theory that the government is created by and is subject to the will of its citizens. But how is this concept valid when the people of the United States don’t directly vote and decide who will govern them? Now, in the 21st century, the purpose of the Electoral College has become outdated to many voters, and has left them confused as well as wondering: why should I even vote? Unlike voters in the late …show more content…
Between news sources, multi-media outlets, and social media, Americans are able to educate themselves and form their own personal opinions concerning politics. When the Electoral College was created, in the late 1700’s, those that were permitted to vote received little knowledge about who they were actually voting for, so it only seemed plausible to have the well-educated people of the nation make the final decision. This idea had protected the U.S. from the risk of leaving the power of choosing who the President is in the hands of ill informed voters of the 1700’s. But now it is the 21st century, and this concept has become outdated to the U.S.’s
The United States has benefited from the Electoral College for hundreds of years. This essay will discuss the presidential voting process and the merits of the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a more effective method of choosing the president than the general election. This is due to the fact that it greatly improves efficiency and ensures the integrity of the election. There would be a huge number of candidates to pick from if the Electoral College did not exist and we had a public vote instead.
The US’s Electoral College has always been a controversial topic. When it was written into the Constitution, it was meant as a compromise between the small and large states, and between Congress and the states (M. West). Since then, the Electoral College system has been how the United States elected its presidents. However, it continues to face criticism and many want the system to change, favoring systems such as a national popular vote instead (National Conference of State Legislatures). Despite how the US’s Electoral College effectively balances power between the states and the federal government, it is still a deeply flawed voting system due to it being based on unrealistic expectations and outdated ideals that should be changed to reflect
The electoral college which was established at the same time that the rest of the three branches were set up, has been heralded as one of, if not the most controversial part of the modern government. Created in the constitution in Article Two, the Electoral College is a process in which the United States chooses its Chief Executive, the president. The Electoral College is made up of 538 members who are chosen, most often, by state party conventions (there is no exact way that is required for the choosing of states’ electors). Once the popular vote is collected the electors pledge themselves to a candidate, normally the person who won the popular vote but not always. This means that sometimes there will be a disparity between who wins the popular
The United States Electoral College is a system that has been in place since the country's founding, and it has been the subject of much debate and controversy over the years. Some argue that the Electoral College is outdated and should be replaced with a popular vote system, while others believe that it serves an important purpose in the American political system. The electoral college has lead to fair and democratic elections for over 200 years, removing it would ruin fair elections, lead to less voter participation and could even lead to more corrupt leaders. The Electoral College provides power to small states and swing states.
After performing their civic duty and voting for a candidate, Americans feel disappointed if their candidate wins the popular vote while failing to be appointed to office(Drew Desilver, Pew Research Center). Disappointment equates to a feeling of hopelessness which, in turn, deters Americans from voting in future elections. If a candidate can win without the popular vote, then does their vote even matter?(Drew Desilver, “Pew Research Center) Discouragement has even been shown by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who stated “it’s time to move away from the electoral college and move to the popular election of our president”(Mahler and Eder, “The electoral college is Hated by so many. So why does it endure?”).
The Electoral College was created by the founding fathers, founders who have nothing in common with us today and did not experience the same social milieu having digressed from that of their time (pattern 9, 12, 21). While many Americans likely blanch at the possibility of altering tradition and are tenacious toward change, we have no obligation to maintain this system, and keeping it on this basis is a banal, hackneyed excuse (list 6, 8, 9,
Rio Kuchlyan Mr. Puma AP Language and Composition 2 March 2023 In Support of the Electoral College Voting is one of the most fundamental ways to participate in a democracy, and every citizen in a democracy deserves to have their voice heard. However, in a vast nation such as the United States, how is this achieved? Consider an ordinary citizen, perhaps a farmer living in rural Kansas. They must constantly consider the various things they have to manage, whether it be their crop production or any threats they face.
This system isn’t based on the will of the people but instead the 538 people in congress, and the 2016 election was perfect example of this. Hillary Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump, even though she won the popular vote. Clinton received about 2.9 million more votes nationwide; however, Trump won the presidency because he won a total of 306 congress votes, whereas Clinton had 232 votes. If the electoral college was based on the will of the people then the popular votes should decide the presidents. The Electoral College is so inequitable that, According to a study done by Jesse Ruderman, “A presidential candidate could be elected with as a little as 21.8% of the popular vote by getting just over 50% of the votes in DC and each of 39 small states.
The Electoral College: Indispensible or Unnecessary? The Electoral College plays a vital role in American politics — so why is it so misunderstood and so frequently criticized? The Electoral College is the method by which a president is elected: each state and the District of Columbia hold voting contests, then cast a set number of electoral votes for a candidate based on the results of the state contest. A candidate must gain 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
America was molded by a group of individuals who felt that their voice was being drowned out by a tyrannical monarchy. After the revolution, this was resolved by creating a system that attempted to allow all people to have a say in the country’s government. The Electoral College was established as a representative way for the citizens of America to elect a leader; however, many are not satisfied with the results.
The Electoral College is a system that has been used to elect the president of the United States since the country’s founding. It is essentially groups of people called electors who cast votes for the president and vice president of the US. Each state has a slate of electors chosen by political parties. This system is prone to manipulation and fraud and takes away the meaning from the American people’s fundamental right to vote. For three reasons, the Electoral College should be abolished.
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
Generations to come, ponder the ideology of: Should the Electoral College continue to hold the power of electing the President of the United States? The process of appointing electors varies by state, but generally, political parties nominate electors at their state conventions. Each state is allocated electoral votes equal to its total number of representatives in Congress. The Electoral College provides each state with a certain number of electors based on its representation in Congress, which combines the proportional representation of the House of Representatives with the equal representation of the Senate; Aiming to prevent the dominance of more populous states over smaller ones. The Electoral College is an effective form of campaigning for the next president as it’s consistent, balances regional interests, and it preserves federalism.
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
The Electoral College is a crucial component of how the President of The United States is elected. The votes cast by the Electoral College can outweigh the popular vote of the American public, so it would be consequential for the American public to be aware of the Electoral College and have at least a basic understanding of how it works. This, however, is sadly not the case. Even some of today’s elected officials are not up to date on how the government works. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute ran a poll of twenty-five hundred randomly selected Americans, out of the members of that poll that were elected officials only fifty-three percent of them answered correctly when asked if they knew what the Electoral College’s function was.