The 2000 presidential elections demonstrated an incredible loophole in the race for the Presidency, found in the Electoral College. In the results of the elections, George W. Bush had lost the popular vote 545,000 votes, but won the Presidency by swinging a lead of 5 votes in the Electoral College. This discrepancy outraged citizens and politicians across the United States. This is not the only instance of the majority candidate not winning the race, for it has happened three times throughout American history (Longley, Pierce 28-29). The Electoral College poses the challenge of evaluating a process that is both highly disputed in how legislators believe it should be run and so incredibly vital to the function of the United States Government. …show more content…
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). This stability compliments the argument that it simply isn’t worth the effort to make any changes to the Electoral College because of the work involved and how functional it is. The Electoral College may not be the most ideal system, but it performs the functions it was designed to do. As said by Alexander Bickel on the …show more content…
This institution, created as a method of compromise during a time long past has persisted in its original form, and we are starting to notice its effects on society, how its design enables it to maintain stability in the presidential election system and give more balanced influence on the federal government to every state. Yet it also has its downfalls, from the “faithless electors” to the misrepresentation of the public, especially 3rd party candidates and minorities. These collectively draw a picture of a system that, as of yet, has not needed to be changed, but may be in the near future. It is versatile enough to change to fit the needs of the people when it is needed to be changed through amendment of the constitution, and ultimately in itself has caused no problems. The problems are side effects of how it has been implemented, but not of the College itself. The debate surrounding the Electoral College is not about the College itself, but how the vote is handled by the college, and whether as a country we value the importance of every state, or the importance of every
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,
Proponents of the Electoral College argue that state viewpoints are more important than political minority viewpoints. We shouldn’t tamper with the careful balance of power between the national and state governments. Overall, they believe that the Electoral College has functioned for over 200 years and find the existing system extremely efficient because they feel that electors represent their constituents Proponents of the Electoral College believe that a popular vote would create numerous deficiencies in the system by making candidates too uniform and making them liable to deceptions of the truth (Pass or Fail, 2000). Why change a system that has functioned and elected a handful of respected and successful presidents? The real question though is, has this system truly worked flawlessly for over 200 years, or do we just think it has?
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.
Unlike any other democracy in the world, the United States elects its president using the electoral college system. Not even state and local level elections within the United States use this archaic approach. The system was created to protect the interests of smaller states, yet it has failed to do so, meaning it is no longer relevant. The electoral college system is unfair and should be abolished because of the dominance of the winner-takes-all system, inequality of votes, and reliance on electors.
Since the inception of our constitution in 1787, there has only been 4 elections where the Electoral College has allowed the future president-elect candidate to win the election, despite losing the popular vote. 4/57 elections is probably something that political scientists don’t lose sleep over, but it is a topic that is worth mentioning and discussing, especially after the controversial presidential election in 2000. From my point of view, I believe that the method we use in selecting our presidents is flawed and ineffective for a couple of reasons. First, the Electoral College has far fewer votes than the American people, yet their vote has a lot more meaning. With 538 delegates representing the Electoral College, it is unfair and inequitable to the millions of people who devote their time and energy to stand in long
More populated states, like California, have more congressional representatives and less populated states have less. For instance, California has fifty-five and Alaska has three (Gallopade, 2012). The President and Vice-President are then elected after all 538 electoral votes are totaled in all of the states. It is the writers opinion that the Electoral College is flawed and therefore not the best way to elect the President and Vice-President. The principal of “One Person, One vote” becomes meaningless, when the people do not in actuality, have the power to elect their nations leaders.
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.
Albert 1 Brekon Albert Government 2A Mr. Baker 28, February 2023 Electoral College Argumentative Essay The Electoral College is the greatest method for electing our President of the United States. It will ensure that the interest of every state is represented, and it will avoid any situations where a few populous states would dominate the entire outcome of the election taking place.
Though many have seen this they still believe the Electoral College is still the right thing for this country democracy. According to McCollester, “Because it is difficult to know the ramifications of such change, one must first consider how the Electoral College came about and how it actually functions today. Once these two points are understood, the need for the Electoral College will become evident because of its ability to maintain the system of checks and balances in American government, preserve the two-party system, and require a national president. These three aspects of America's political structure are protected by the Electoral College and each is essential for the continued stability of
Electoral College Argumentative The Electoral College was a compromise between the national and state governments in the United States back when the Constitution was still a new governmental document. In its time the Electoral College served to make sure that the President was chosen by the most qualified people from each state. Nowadays things have changed, the Electoral College’s original purpose has been perverted into a tool used by politicians to win the presidency unfairly. The Electoral College is an outdated piece of legislation that favors votes from swing states rather than the popular vote and should be abolished.
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”)
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.
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