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. Proponents of the system accuse current skepticisms of being partisan, and the skeptics of being “sore losers”. However, defenders of the Electoral College, such as Guelzo and …show more content…
The system was an experimental product of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The delegates to the convention, as was the rest of the world, were inexperienced with the formation of a democracy, and made their best attempt to strike a balance between a true democracy and appeasing the newly-united states. As the fragile nation quickly discovered, each of the states had its own needs, and compromise was a necessity. Supporters of the Electoral College often downplay the role that slavery played in its creation by insisting that the compromise was intended to protect the small states from the will of the large ones, but the true divisions that the Electoral College intended to patch were between the North and the South, and they involved one key issue: slavery …show more content…
Even today, the Electoral College ensures that “the preferences of minority voters count for almost nothing” (Hoffman). The popular “winner take all” system of distributing electoral votes at the state level fundamentally disenfranchises the conflicting opinions of minority votes (Hoffman). In alternative systems of distributing electors proportionally or using the national popular vote, the ballots cast by minority voters across the country would significantly add to one candidate’s total. In this manner, the effects of the Electoral College with regard to suppressing minority votes is appallingly similar to the types of political gerrymandering banned by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (Kelkar) The minority votes, even if they comprise 49% of the state population, get virtually nozero electoral representation in the vast majority of states. When it comes to presidential elections, African Americans are “completely disenfranchised--just as they were for so many years in the eras of slavery and segregation”
The electoral college is a process the founding fathers established in the constitution with the intent to create a safeguard between the population and the selection of a president, and to give extra power to smaller states. However, based on the information presented in the articles the electoral college should be abolished as it violates our right of political equality, and fails to represent a third, independent, party in any election. Although there are many reasons to abolish the electoral college, the principal reason to take action would be the result of an obvious violation of our right to be politically equal. As shown in the chart provided (Doc D) 12 of the lowest populated states and the District of Columbia have almost the
When the Democratic System in America was founded in 1787, it was built on the sturdy ideals of equality and fairness. The founding fathers of the constitutional convention developed the Electoral college system with the best interests of the American people in mind, as the average person was highly under-educated and they did not trust them to make a decision as important as the But over time as society and even our democracy has changed, it has become ridden with flaws and corruption especially in the electoral college and voting system. The effects of the Electoral College’s inefficiencies oppose the very ideas our democracy was built off of. Because of the over-representation of small states, the broken promises of political equality, and
In fact, in ‘Why the Electoral College Should be Abolished’, the author argues how the Electoral College doesn’t isolate “...the effects of illegal voting (or unfair vote counting) to the state in which it occurs”, but instead, “...the “winner take all” arrangement of the Electoral College actually magnifies the effect of the voting fraud tremendously” (8). Fraudulent voters would completely overtake all the legitimate voters in the whole state if they tipped an election (“Why the Electoral” 8). Therefore, the “winner take all” arrangement isn’t the most reliable, due to how it could be influenced by dishonest voters who could tip the scales in their favor, and would completely undermine the legitimacy of the election. Voters in certain political parties might go as far as to manipulate the Electoral College in order to have their candidate win the
For those who object the winner-take-all principle, they worry that the Electoral College system has: the risk of so-called “faithless” electors and the possible role of the Electoral College in depressing voter turnout. On the other hand, arguments in favor of this principle defend that it: enhances the status of minority interests and maintains a federal system of
This mechanism is usually considered to be controversial because of its impact on the presidential elections. Even though the Electoral College is a very frequent target of criticism, there are many people who still support it. The fact that the arguments presented by both sides are from different perspectives and contradictory makes it very difficult to reach any form of an acceptable consensus. One of the main arguments used by the supporters to prove the importance of the Electoral College is stressing its long tradition in connection with its role in the federal system.
From September 1st to September 17th, I asked 17 random students from the University of Texas at San Antonio if we should abolish the Electoral College. Out of my findings, I discovered that the majority of students were for the abolishment of the Electoral College. The results were relatively close with 58.82% of the respondents for abolishing the Electoral College and 41.18% for preserving it. However, there was a margin of error of 23.76%, and a 95% confidence interval of 35.06% to 82.58%.
It is also the author of this papers opinion then the Electoral College was founded, there was not much interest in the people’s opinion. When the system was founded neither black, women, nor people who did not own property could vote (Jefferson-Jenkins, 2001). In this citizen’s opinion the Electoral College system is seemingly outdated for the following reasons. First, a candidate who loses the popular vote may still be voted in by the Electoral College.
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.
This is clear grounds for the abolishment of the Electoral College as it goes against what the founding fathers initially wanted for the country, “All Men Created Equal” and
Creating the U.S. Constitution and the democratic values that are associated with, the Founders had some oversight concerning democracy. The electoral college an undemocratic idea within a democratic society. The people vote and, depending on the state, the electors either vote on the outcome of the popular vote or vote what they think. That create a less democratic environment all together. By using the electoral college, the government becomes less of a direct democracy.
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
This paper contains information and proof as to why the Electoral College is unfair and unreliable. It explains how the people and the system is cheated, and provides past and present information on how this occurred. It speaks on how it has not taken account the voice of the citizens in the united states in many different ways. The paper argues on how and why we should abolish the Electoral College system of voting.
(Black, 2012) So, while it is clear that the Electoral College was set up to ensure all states have a voice, it now seems to have the ability to take away the voice of the people. It is necessary to look at our voting process and make the necessary changes needed to ensure the process of electing our President represents the voice of the people. By switching to a majority vote we ensure that the voice of all people are not only heard, but are represented equally, which is how it should be under the one-person, one-vote
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
In the short story called, “The American Electoral Process,” Kubic explained to us about why he disagrees with how the Constitution and the Congress take all votes for every single state as well as being unalike in population and size in which he would tell of as