I really enjoyed this video because ever since I grasped the idea of the Electoral College I have disagreed with it. However, I never really did any research revolving what goes on behind closed doors. The premises most definitely lead to the conclusion without any additional points. We see that the Electoral College ruins democracy because citizens of smaller states have a louder, more important voice than their larger neighboring states. This means that the votes of the larger states will, in a sense, be ignored also like the wants, and needs of people in set states. Furthermore, even if all of these issues were resolved and the votes and voices were equally important, the votes don’t actually absolutely matter because the Electoral Congress …show more content…
I think that if the members of the Electoral College were held to a high moral standard this would not be a problem due to their reputation being at stake. However, as it has been made clear, this is not the case. I think that the argument stating a considerable number of peoples’ votes are not accounted for is most powerful when showing that the Electoral College ruins democracy. All things considered, this is an excellent argument due to there not being a need for additional premises or assumptions. I think that incorporating the four times that popular vote overrode the Electoral College would have really hit this argument home. It shows that besides the Electoral College not being fair to individuals it can actually change the outcome of an election. Personally, I would like to abolish the Electoral College and rely strictly on popular vote. However, since this is not as easy as it sounds we must first take some steps to get there. I think it would be in the US’s best interest to first pass a law stating that members of the Electoral College must vote for the person who won popular vote. This would eliminate the possibility of the representatives voting for the person who did not win the vote. In addition, I believe that we should reassign people in the Electoral College. Although I do not know how to carry this out, I think we should look into ways to distribute representatives so that the people who have the same representative have roughly the same educational and finical
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
Professor Joyce Appleby throughout her statement talks about how the Electoral College is tremendously flawed because of the two-vote bonus that the smaller states are given and that it is a direct violation to the democracy that Americans live by
Although the Electoral College may have been a necessary element of the government when it was originally created, the system has since become impractical for today’s society. The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. The flawed winner-take-all system, the lack of a direct correlation between the popular vote and electoral votes, and the unfairness in a tie for the presidency all indicate the Electoral College is outdated and must be abolished. In the current electoral system, the slightest majority in a particular state means all of the votes in that state are given to the candidate that wins the majority.
The original system for U.S. elections was changed by the 12th Amendment, to the highly controversial method which uses “a number of electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the congress” (5). This electoral college, at the suggestion of their state’s vote count, then casts their votes on behalf of their citizens. In the 2016 election, we witnessed what some would consider a failure of the electoral college, where the popular vote was won by Hillary Clinton, while the electoral college elected Donald Trump. This was a situation that the forefathers did not intend when they created this system in order to prevent a monarchy in America, but it does pose a question on whether we should reconsider our election process. Article III establishes the judicial branch and its’ power, which extends to “all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this constitution, the Laws of the United States” (7).
The argument considering the validity of the electoral college system is home to many complicated components, therefore, creates very diverse opinions. In addition, not all voters are well educated as to how the system works as a whole nor the beginnings of the electoral college and why it was called to action. Because many people are only exposed to portions of the media, biases are easily founded. Some would argue that the electoral college helps the nation to manage large numbers of votes and essentially "round-out" a winner. When the elections are fairly slanted towards one candidate, the electoral college is helpful in fully distinguishing a winner.
The Electoral college was a successful method of election as it eliminated corruption from the process. In The Federalist 68 Alexander Hamilton points out, “They have not made the appointment of President to depend on any preexisting bodies of men, who might be tampered with beforehand to prostitute their votes” (The Federalist 68). The electors have no preconceived notions about the president, and will not allow their votes to be bought out. They are unbiased which allows for a fair and uncorrupt election.
If we somehow happened to be a capable vote, then we ought to have the capacity to really pick who might be president. The Electoral College removes that from us. The Electoral College is not by any stretch of the imagination reasonable for our rights and our opportunity. It, for the most part, takes away the ability to vote the president. The Electoral College was made in a period when votes were harder to gather and number.
Five times so far including the 2016 election, the presidency elections seemed like our votes didn't matter, only the electoral
The Electoral College was crafted in 1787. Since then, people have tried to amend the Electoral College, but have not succeeded. Therefore, the Electoral College should be eradicated. For example, the recent election was full of problems. When Donald Trump won the presidency, many citizens of the United States could not believe it.
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
This includes the popular vote not being taken seriously as the people's wishes, the need for only 12 states to win and become president, and the neglection of other states and the attention given to the swing states. All represents that the Electoral college is not what is limiting the power of the government and giving the people what they want, but instead is what truly empowers the government and takes away the choice we Americans should have and posses. While this is what the electoral college is doing now the abolishment of the electoral college should take place in order to give the power back to the people. Do you want to keep living your life truly powerless in the decision of our next leader? Or do you want to give the power back to the people of the USA, and take back our power to choose the right
The first article's main point is that the United States of America should not get rid of the electoral college, but do away with the popular vote instead. The popular vote does not pick the president, it merely choosing which party of electors will be able to cast their votes towards their candidate. The article also said that instead of the electors for each state be the state's senators and representatives, they should be people of that state, decided by a lottery held before the election day. The second article said that if the country gets rid of the electoral college, then it would be as though the country is handing the election to the states that have the highest populations (i.e. California and Texas).
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
(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