Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Electoral College
Electoral College
Problems with the electoral college
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Electoral College
Electoral College
Problems with the electoral college
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Electoral College helped to protect and promote the two party system seen throughout the United States government. The electoral college helps to keep the two party system be forcing a third party into moving into one of the two main parties: Democratic or Republican (3) This can be seen as an advantage because votes would end up being spread among the different party candidates that it could make it difficult to count the votes, lead to a possible number of recounts, and make the whole process much more difficult. This leads to another advantage of being able to prevent enormous amounts of voter fraud. The electoral college can prevent this because no matter how many voter's ballots are counted, the electoral college keeps only a set amount of electoral votes. Another Advantage that can be seen is that the Electoral College motivate compromise among the parties but also help to promote moderation of political beliefs.
The United States government is one of the most admired and complex in the world, On the contrary one of the fundamental components that has an extensive impression on the American People and the Election is the Electoral College. Our founding fathers created The Electoral College over two hundred years ago, and it is still in effect today. They feared that having just the Popular Vote would give too much power to one person. In this paper, we will be discussing what the Electoral College is, the benefits and disadvantages of the Electoral College as well as if the Electoral College should be abolished or reconstructed.
It seems as though the government wanted every other form of electing a president to fail, because they just continued to go to the next solution without trying to understand the problem and fixing it. It almost seems as if win the electoral college came into the play they just knew that it would work somehow because they kept trying at it until it worked. The article How the Electoral College System Works states that “the Electoral college system almost never functioned as they intended, but, prescribed only the system’s basic elements, leaving ample room for development.” To sum up my beliefs on the topic, I believe as though the government should get rid of the Electoral College because it’s a scam on America.
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.
This data demonstrates the low chances of a third party candidate being able to gain any electoral votes. The system clearly disproportionately gives out electoral votes, making it especially difficult for third party candidates to win any elections. Additionally, in the 2000 presidential election, a third party candidate, Nader, went up against Gore and G.W. Bush. While Gore obtains 266 electoral votes, Bush receives 271, automatically making him the winner. On the other hand, the third party candidate, Nader, received a total of zero electoral votes, even though he gained 2,882,955 popular votes.
It gives the smaller states a voice, that could have been ignored if the popular vote only counted. The Electoral College helps the candidates and their party keep their campaign organized, if the they know the amount of votes they are looking for they can organize how much time they spend campaigning in each state (Advantages and Disadvantages of the Electoral College). Also helps keep a sense of stability, but setting up a 2 party system of voting, and also gives the states to make their own laws on voting and being able to make amendments accordingly (Advantages and Disadvantages of Electoral College). The Electoral College also helps avoid the chance of fraud occurring or national recounts (Advantages and Disadvantages of the Electoral College). Even though the system has many advantages it also has many disadvantages as
I. The Electoral College is an unnecessary institution that undermines democracy by not ensuring the victory of the presidential candidate who wins the plurality of the popular vote, by creating a system in which not all votes are equal, and by incentivizing politicians to focus on the needs of specific states while ignoring others. II. A. The Electoral College is a body of people that represent each state within the United States and formally cast votes for their state in the election of the president.
In the Electoral College, each state gets a number of electors based on its representation in Congress. The Electoral College is the best method for electing a president for the country right now. The first reason the Electoral College is best, is that it ensures that all parts of the country are involved in the
The United States of America has a rich history filled with success, failure, courage, and drive. Millions have come seeking the “American Dream” and to live in the land of the free. The past is what has shaped this nation’s present and future. Yet, as time drifts, the world around us changes. What was once deemed acceptable can now seem outdated in today’s society.
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.
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
One pro is it protects uneducated voters from making the final decision on who the president of the country would be. Also, the Electoral College ensures that all parts of the country are involved in who gets to be president. Lastly, the Electoral College guarantees assurance to the outcome of the presidential election. Some cons include, the reasons for which the founding father created the Electoral College are no longer relevant. Next, the Electoral College gives more power to some of the swing states, and allows the presidential election to be decided by a handful of states.
America has come a long way since its establishment in 1776; two hundred and forty years has passed since then and the changes are quite notable. For instance, the fact that this country was built upon the backs of slaves who were stolen from their homeland, thankfully, laws that make slavery illegal exist now ("Congress Abolishes the African Slave Trade"). Same-sex marriage is legal, and anti-discrimination laws are trying to be put in place. All of these things are great for our country, but how long did it take to get to this point? 240 years?
In light of recent presidential elections, more and more of the public as turned their attention to the process in which the president is elected. Four times in history the president was elected due to votes in the Electoral College instead of the popular vote. (Wheeler, 2007) Most agree that the Electoral College is unfair because the candidate who wins the majority of the popular vote is not necessarily who the president will be on inauguration day. (Gringer, 2008)
Firstly, the Electoral College can lead to only two candidates being mostly represented. This can lead to not many choices in candidates, making the people choices the voters have restricted to the only two major parties, creating a non-diverse voting scene. Furthermore, this can also lead to other parties that aren't as popular or major getting success from the electoral college. “Throughout American history, the Electoral College system also has made it more difficult for minor-party candidates to be successful in presidential races.”