The Electoral College is one of the most important systems in the United States’ elections, and a deciding factor in every general election for the presidency. Established in 1787, the College has been a system in the US for quite a while. Some people would say that it is unconstitutional, because in some elections people who didn’t even get the popular vote still won, and others say that it is a great and founding system that is integral to a fair election. In my opinion, it is a great system that is very much needed in our election process and I believe our country would be a lot different without it. As one of the most important systems in the US, it’s hard to imagine how elections would be in the absence of it.
Ever since the election involving Bush and Gore, the viability of the Electoral College has become a heatedly debated topic. The question is whether the Electoral College is still an effective system considering the conditions the United States faces today as opposed to the conditions that the Founding Fathers faced when they created it. For over one hundred and fifty years, the United States has used this system, and controversy has followed it ever since. It was created in an effort to protect the people and institution of America by putting the final vote of the presidency in the hands of a trusted and respected few. These few have the power to disregard the popular vote due to the fact that there is still no federal law demanding electors
In 1787 there was a constitutional convention which composed a new structure for our American government. (Study.com 2003) During the convention the delegates weren’t able to decide whether the people or congress should elect the president, thus creating the Electoral College. (Study.com 2003) The Electoral College is an arrangement between the majority vote of Congress and qualified citizens for the election of the president. (National Archives and Records Administration) In other words, it’s an indirect system for electing the U.S. President by using Electoral votes or an Indirect Democracy. This process created a balance between the power of Congress and the people.
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.
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
I think we should keep the Electoral College. Electoral College is defined in our textbook as; “An unofficial term that refers to the electors who cast the states’ electoral votes” (Patterson, T.E., 2013). Electoral voting is tied in with the states popular voting. Choosing electoral college adds to the cohesiveness of the nation by obliging an appropriation of popular support to be elected President, improves the status of minority interests, contributes to the political dependability of the country by promising a two-party system, and keeps up an elected arrangement of government and representation (Kimberling, W.C., 2008). I think that the Electoral College system is a big part of the cohesiveness of our country and it requires the distribution
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 United States is a government republic, with chose authorities at the elected (national), state and neighborhood levels. On a national level, the head of express, the President, is chosen in a roundabout way by the general population of each state, through an Electoral College. Today, the balloters essentially dependably vote with the well-known vote of their state. All individuals from the government council, the Congress, are straightforwardly chosen by the general population of each state. There are many chosen workplaces at the state level, each state having no less than an elective Governor and council. There are additionally chosen workplaces at the neighborhood level, in regions, urban communities, towns, townships, precincts, and
The Electoral College is the process to which the United States elects the President, and the Vice President. The founders of the Constitution came up with this process. This was done to give additional power to the small states, and it was done to satisfy them. It works by the citizens of the United States electing representatives called electors. Each state is given the same amount of electors, as they are members of congress. Each elector must cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice President. In order to win the electoral college, and be nominated as President of the United States, the candidate must gain 270 of the 538 electoral votes. In an instance where no candidate receives the 270 votes needed, the House of Representatives
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. Technically under this system we do not directly vote for our President/Vice President. Instead they select a group of people who have pledged to vote for their chosen candidate. These groups of people that
The presidential election is the biggest and most important election held in the United States. In fact, during the Presidential election of 2012, approximately 57.5% of the registered voting population exercised their voting rights, while the 2014 congressional election turnout rate of 41.9 percent has been its lowest turnout rate since 1978. However, what these citizens who vote in the Presidential election may or may not know is that their votes do not directly influence who is chosen as president. What it does count toward is the number of Electoral College votes that a candidate receives, which would ultimately secure their presidency. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors, whom each candidate needs at least 270 of their votes
Throughout the years, there have been many qualms regarding the electoral college. Does the Electoral College properly represent the will of the American people? Is the electoral college an outdated system? Recently, these questions resurfaced as the election of 2016 resulted in the projection of Donald Trump triumphing over Hilary Clinton, even though Clinton received more popular votes at the end of the election. I believe that the Electoral College should be removed and changed to a more balanced system which reflects the needs and wants of each individual residing in America rather than society that does not account for the greater population of America in an old-fashioned system where the framers of the Constitution did not trust the American people to elect a leader worthy of the title.
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.
Should the Electoral College Be Replaced by the Direct Election of the President? A Debate
The Electoral College is a longstanding organization in place in the United States of America that was originally established by the Founding Fathers in create equality in presidential elections has become a topic of harsh criticism and controversy over the years.