ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

1093 Words5 Pages

The textbook definition of the Electoral College is “a unique American institution, created by the constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the states parties. Although the Electoral College vote usually reflects a popular majority, less populated states are overrepresented and the winner-take-all rule concentrates campaigns on close states” (Edwards and Wattenberg 643). In the definition itself it notes disproportionate representation which is one of the many flaws within this system. The National Popular Vote Plan is an alternative system that would still use electors to cast their votes but instead it would give each state’s votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote. This plan has …show more content…

The National Popular Vote Plan would eliminate many of the issues seen today while still having characteristics that are present in the current Electoral College. Issues such as disproportionate representation and neglecting smaller states during the campaign would be very minor or even nonexistent. Changing our election process would have clear benefits and would create a system which would have a closer representation of a democracy.
“ The Electoral College operates to create the illusion of popular mandate” ( Riggs, Hobbs, Riggs 2). It makes us believe we are picking our president but in reality the Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who meet anytime between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to decide our president (Dixon 6). These electors are here to represent the United States population of approximately 309,000,000 people. This would mean 1 electoral vote represents 574,000 people (Video 2). Every state must have at least 3 votes in the current system and the District of Columbia gets to vote even when it is not a state while territories like Puerto Rico do not get to vote even when people living there are US citizens. This

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    511 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this plan, the people are able to vote for who they want as president yet the candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win. These electoral votes are what truly decides the next president. The electors of a state cast their vote for the

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Electoral College Essay

    580 Words  | 3 Pages

    This proposal will give each and every citizen a chance to vote. Statistics show that more people will vote if they know that there vote will make a difference. This proposal fits modern America because it will allow every American to make their voice heard when determing what President should be in office and what changes should be made. This system will allow the election of the President to be easy and fair. Direct Reflection with Instant Runoff Voting could be used with or without the Electoral College in effect.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    587 Words  | 3 Pages

    Than some arguments made against the Electoral College would the failure in not accurately reflecting the national popular support, the possibility of there being a depressing voter turnout, and risk of a faithless Electors. People have even formulated other possible solutions instead of the

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    514 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, voters do not vote for a specific elector, they just vote which party they are affiliated with. The popular vote is just as important as the Electoral College vote, but it does not determine the outcome. Fundamentally, the popular vote is just to see how many voters favor which presidential candidate the most. “Democratic and Republican state parties nominate their own slates of electors-some as early as the spring and others as late as October. In many states, elector candidates are picked at congressional district and state conventions, when local activists also pick their delegates to the national convention.”

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    518 Words  | 3 Pages

    The electoral college is a system where people vote for electors. Then the electors communicate with the people and the electors pick the candidates. Next the people vote between democrat and republican parties. The problems with the electoral college voting system is that the electors do not listen to what the people want and they just make their own decisions, there is a chance of a tie in the electoral college, and also the people don't even get to vote on who the electors are. Furthermore, a very large problem with the electoral college is that the electors are not listening to the people.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    1344 Words  | 6 Pages

    Do We Need the Electoral College? Following the 2016 election many individuals we shocked to find Donald Trump had won the Presidency while not having the popular vote. They were unaware of how the electoral college works and how the president is actually elected through the electoral college rather than the popular vote. But, before we find out if we need the electoral college, we must look into why it was created, and look at the pros and cons of the electoral college as well as the pros and cons of the proposed system to replace it.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    1268 Words  | 6 Pages

    Also, it is completely unfair that the winning candidate in that respective state gets all that state’s votes. Maine and Nebraska are the only exceptions, because they proportionally split their votes. Simply changing all the states to this system would make the electoral college a more equal system; not the best, but better. There have been three occurrences in this country’s history that the electoral college has failed. In 1876 with Hayes, 1888 with Harrison, and 2000 with George W. Bush, the president won by the electoral college, but not by winning the popular vote.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Abolishing The Electoral College

    1278 Words  | 6 Pages

    What did you not see the DraStic change it would make in the political system, such as an incourage multi-party system. A few analysts have thought of ideas that do not abolish it but many Electoral College. Their ideas consist of congressional district allegation, proportional allocation, and the Electoral College with super electors. Under the system of congressional district allegation electors would be apportioned one to each congressional district and then the two Senator electors. This plan can help to expand the campaigns playing field.

    Read More

  • Should Electoral College Be Replaced With A Direct National Election

    825 Words  | 4 Pages

    Should the Electoral College be replaced with a direct national election? In order to understand this question, we must first understand what the Electoral College and a direct national election are. The Electoral College is basically a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. This group of people is made up of 538 electors who are chosen or appointed by a larger group and a majority of 270 votes by these people are required to elect a president or vice president.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Abolishing The Electoral College

    998 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a system in which the president and vice president are chosen indirectly, alternatively, having them chosen by the direct popular vote of the people. Through the Electoral College, a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes to be declared president. If neither candidate obtains a majority, the US House of Representatives selects the president from the top three contenders. There are many positives and negatives regarding this system of government and after researching and analyzing this topic, I was able to take a stance on whether or not the Electoral College should or should not be abolished.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    1259 Words  | 6 Pages

    The United States Electoral College is an American system designed by the founding fathers to conduct elections. However, it has become subject to controversy in the 2016 Presidential election. The unique aspect of the Electoral College is how electors are awarded to presidential candidates using a state-by-state method of determining the number of electors. While the Electoral College is fundamental to the founders of America to protect the nation, its fatal flaws are too damaging to the people of the United States. In my opinion, the Electoral College needs to be reexamined in order to establish a new way of electing Presidents and Vice Presidents.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Electoral College

    828 Words  | 4 Pages

    The change we would propose to the electoral college is to lower its authority in the presidential election— to make it on equal footing with the popular vote. Since its creation, there have been five presidential elections whereby the winning presidential candidate secured electors’ votes of the Electoral College and not the plurality of the national vote. One of the Electoral College’s initial purposes was to find a middle ground between the popular vote and the election vote in Congress of the presidential elections but having the electoral college override the national vote in chance a candidate receives a majority negates the purpose entirely. The Electoral College should be able to threaten the presidential election, not dominate it. Leveling the playing field between the plurality of the national vote and the majority of the electoral college allows the losing candidate in either election a fighting chance.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Banning The Electoral College

    551 Words  | 3 Pages

    A sad truth comes to light as the results of a tight race for the next president starts to roll in. The truth is that the dysfunctional system that demonstrates the whole voting process takes the future of America 's leader, the one who will set many precedents and lessons for future generations to come, into the hands of former politicians and notable political figures, who take on the careless and unnecessary role of an elector. These electors are part of a voting system called the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a group of 538 people that are elected at state conventions to officially vote for the next presidential candidate based on each state 's popular vote. This structure is old and should be banned for several reasons.

    Read More

  • Electoral College Advantages

    1706 Words  | 7 Pages

    The electoral college creates "Certainty of Results"(Electoral College: Pros & Cons) where it is easier to count, and make sure the count is correct, under 600 votes, as opposed to the billion or so that comes from popular vote. This allows the candidate to call for a "recount" where they are able to count up the votes and make sure that there was no missed votes or misunderstandings which may have been lingering within the vote. The Electoral College also limits the candidate’s ability to pander to certain states or cities for their votes, rather they can appeal to many states, for they all have equal roles. Overall, the Electoral College is a great addition to our republic, and I believe it could be improved, but keep the same

    Read More

  • Should Electoral College Be Abolished Essay

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    Electoral college has been with us since the birth of the constitution, and to this day we are still using this type of system to this day. The Electoral College is a system that the United States uses to elect our upcoming presidents and vice presidents. Each state has electors equal to their senate member and house of representatives, however who ever gets the highest popular vote in the state gets the electoral vote. The issue is the Electoral College do not give votes to the people, but to the states. Which has some unfair consequences.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

Open Document