The electoral college also know as the presidential electors are chosen to indirectly vote for the next U.S. presidents and vice presidents. The founding fathers had put this process in place in order to ensure the presidency was being elected by informed and educated people and not just by popular vote. The electoral college consists of 538 electors and in order to win the presidency, a majority of 270 electoral votes are required. Each state has a given specific amount of electors, which consists of one member from the House of Representatives and two from the House of Senates. For example, the state of California, on of the largest states holds 55 of the 270 electoral votes, while Vermont one of the smaller states, only holds 3 of the votes. …show more content…
• The system guarantees a winner in the presidential election. With the popular vote the candidate has to ensure they reach a specific percentage. In 1992 Bill Clinton won the presidential election, but had only won 43 percent of the popular vote.
• The system also guarantees competitiveness, especially since each state holds it’s own contest. Candidates have to create strategies on how they will approach each state and determine if it is worth any additional effort to win states over. The states that would gain most from the candidates for attention would be the battleground
The United States' President and Vice President are chosen through the Electoral College, an indirect voting system. As a middle ground between electing the president through a popular vote and having Congress choose the candidate, it was established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. According to this method, a set number of electors is allotted to each state based on its population, and these electors vote for the president on behalf of the residents of their state. For more than 200 years, the United States has chosen its president using the Electoral College system, which has proven to be a trustworthy and accurate method.
In my own words some of the pros and cons of the Electoral College are as followed and explained. My pros are that it maintains the federalist system, and allows for minority interests to be represented. It helps maintain the federalist system by keeping all of the branches of government equal. It helps allow for minority interests to be represented by helping the interest and have the ability to be represented and backed up by bigger parties to help get votes. My cons of the Electoral College are that is does not reflect the popular vote, and lowers voter turnout.
The Electoral College is a group of 538 votes used to decide the president. The number, 538, is the number of senators plus the number of representatives in the U.S. These votes are given to states depending on that state's population. California has the most electoral college votes, they have 55. While places like Wyoming and Alaska have only three electoral college votes.
Though unlikely to be at the forefront of any 2016 presidential platforms, the Electoral College is a widely contested issue among partisans, many of who believe that a better method exists for selecting the President of the United States. This anti-Electoral College sentiment is also present among Americans nationwide, Republicans and Democrats alike. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, 61% of Republicans and 66% of Democrats would vote to do away with the Electoral College. In today’s contentious political atmosphere, in which Republicans and Democrats are constantly at odds with one another, any level of agreement between the parties clearly indicates that a change needs to be made. Changes are already starting to occur at the state level,
Recently, especially after the 2000 elections where Al Gore won in the popular vote with 500,000 more votes but lost the electoral vote to George W. Bush, has the public began really arguing if the Electoral College should continue to be the major deciding factor in elections. “The Electoral College, the assemblage of state electors constitutionally charged with electing the president, also limits third-party growth. With the exceptions of Maine and Nebraska, states award all their votes to the plurality winner within the state,(a term commonly referred as winner-take-all)” (AM GOV). Each state receives an electoral vote for every member they have in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Electoral College is a group of people that contains of 538 electors who nominate the body of House of Representatives that are two mains of leaders that took place, the President and Vice-President. They are chosen who cast votes from each state to decide the number of which President and Vice-President that can run the government in the United States. The polls always held on Tuesday, which is the day that voters who are only known as citizens; however, immigrants are not allowed to vote. They will choose which candidate receives their state 's electors, the people of each state vote for the electors who votes on the people 's behalf. The candidate who receives 270, a majority of electoral votes, wins the Presidency that equals to
In 1776, the United States of America was formed as a repudiation of the monarchy that had once subjected its citizens. The Patriots had fought for freedom. They had fought for liberty. They had fought for equality. With such a virtuous cause (and some help from the French), the Patriots were able to fend off the British to win independence.
Eric Morrill Cardenas American Government Mr. Baker 3/1/2023 The Advantage of the Electoral College The President of our country has the most power out of any individual in the government. That is why the Electoral College is so significant. The Electoral College was created to elect the president with the influence of the people but also the legitimacy of the people in office. The people of each state cast their votes and then those state’s electors cast their votes in reflection to what the people voted.
They argue that, by forcing each state to have some say in the election process, it will also force each candidate to give each state at least some attention. This system, however, gives the big states just
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.
The electoral college also helps the small states have an opinion that actually is heard in the presidential election. In class, it was discussed that Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota together, though their combined population is less than that of Oklahoma, each of those states has three electoral votes, whereas Oklahoma just has seven votes. Going by electoral votes, a candidate would have a better chance at winning the election if they won over Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota versus Oklahoma. With the electoral college, a candidate could win over all thirty-nine small states and win the entire election. Though the candidate could be supported by less than a quarter of the population,
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
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.
The Electoral College system the founding fathers devised helps to balance out the power of the large, populous states. This system forces candidates to campaign in all states since they all carry some sway in the elections (“Understanding the Presidential Election”). However, other issues present themselves as well, like states with large independent voters that can be swayed and the issue that a candidate can lose the popular vote and win the election. The first issue is that states that are equally divided between democrats and republicans and hold a large number of electoral votes like Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania are considered swing states. (“Understanding the Presidential Election”)
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.