Electoral Laws Research Paper

One of the primary arguments to the credit of the Electoral College is that a winner can be more easily determined in the Electoral College vs the popular vote. The Electoral College has a system for handling ties (The House of Representatives), and is much more accurate than the popular vote. It is not possible to attain 100% accuracy when the voting population totals above 126 million, making for difficult logistics and guaranteed recounts, whereas determining a majority in a state to assign electors is trivial in comparison, thus “saving the nation ‘from the effects of an ambiguous outcome‘”(Hardaway 127). As well as being highly accurate in deciding a winner, the Electoral College also ensures that political candidates must campaign in nearly every state because of the power of each to affect the election, ensuring that every state actively participates in the political process. In addition, the winner-take-all system, also known as “unit rule”, while not always necessarily representative of the popular vote, “the electoral college and unit rule provide decisive majorities that lend stability to our presidential election system” (Josephson, Ross 162).

Keele (2005) points out that people have an attachment to the party they identify with. They state that parties are used to govern and the more major institutions a party controls the more policy goals that party can reach. While the minority party still has some power, the majority party is the one that governs. Keele mentions that people trust a party if it takes them into consideration and if it will act with their best interest more than the opposition party. Keele concluded that partisans’ trust should increase when their party controls government and decline when their party loses control.

The main advantage is that it removes the concentration of power from one individual. This ensures that abuse of power is limited. Giving different individuals from varying parties will also result in the creation of checks and balances in the executive. A lieutenant governor from the Democratic Party will be able to check the activities and the undertakings of a Republican governor thus ensuring that they operate within the confines of the law and the powers of their office. Also, the system allows for the introduction or the enforcement of the manifestos held by both parties, thereby resulting in greater benefits to the population.

Also I think that if the candidates are looking for the electotal votes; then the states with the most electoral votes gets the most attention. They need to concentrate on the states with the most electoral votes. The smaller states or states with lesser electoral votes gets little to no attention. One good aspect of the Electoral College is that it makes more sense to the smaller states to ensure they still have a voice in the elections. If the President were to be elected by popular demand; they would be from a highly populated state leaving less room for the smaller states to cast their votes.

This seems deceptive because the people of that state vote for their party, not the opposing side. However, as seen multiple times in history, representatives have voted against their party. Although it seems as if the state representatives have the power to manipulate the majority’s vote, it is noted that the people choose their representatives (so the voters receive what they voted for). Through the establishment of the Electoral College, people are allowed to vote for their representatives, candidates have a better understanding of the nation’s needs, and there is more equal representation. It is with these reasons that I support the Electoral College and do not think that it should be modified nor abolished.

The system allows for the voices of the people to be heard through the popular vote and have elected officials make educated decisions based on the opinions of the nation’s citizens. However, the way the Electoral college is set up makes it possible for a candidate to be elected president without the majority of the popular vote (U.S. Electoral College). The combination of the controversial nature of the College and the differing opinions of U.S. citizens leads to a question being asked: Is the Electoral College damaging to the democratic system in United States, or is it a pivotal extension of our democracy? While some U.S. citizens feel that the Electoral College should be abolished, there are those who feel the system plays a key role in our Presidential election.

So, the branches check one another and the people elect the members other than in the judicial branch, whose members are chosen by the executive branch. Madison brings up that it isn’t possible to divide power absolutely equally and “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.” (2). And so, the legislative branch will be divided even more to try and combat the unbalance of power. Madison thought this system was a good method because he believed that it was part of human nature to have conflicting ideas and wants, and so each branch could keep the others in line and therefor no one power is above the others. Furthermore, Madison believes a bigger government with multiple branches is better because then it becomes difficult for one

A few legislative checks include; the ability to impeach the president or judges, override a presidential veto, pass laws to overthrow supreme court decisions, and propose amendments to the Constitution. The executive had far fewer checks due to the fear of a tyrannical leader. In turn, the President can veto laws, call congress into session, and pardon people evicted by the courts. The last branch, the judiciary, was given the least amount of checks. The judiciary checks consist of the capacity to declare laws made by congress or executive acts unconstitutional and the right to proceed over impeachment

On the other side with the defenders of the Electoral College they believe that the Electoral College system is more fair. "In Defense of the Electoral College" states that it provides a certainty of outcome in that "if the difference of the popular vote is small, then if the winner of the popular vote were deemed winner of the presidential election, candidates would have an insensitive to seek a recount in any state." They also state that swing states are important because "they are likely to be the most thoughtful voters" "and the most thoughtful voters should be the ones to decide the elections" giving their votes importance. They also say that it avoids having no candidate winning a

The current election systems ensures the people have a say in who is elected president but do not hold all of the power. Citizens have a say but at the same time uneducated people are not able to solely choose the next president of the United States. As Alexander Hamilton, an american statesmen and one of the founding fathers, said, “It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station” (document 1). Alexander Hamilton is saying smart, educated men should be the ones deciding who should become the next president. The United States has had the same system that has worked flawlessly, there is no reason to change a system that is still working