ipl-logo

Electoral System Dbq Essay

730 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on electoral process

When the Democratic System in America was founded in 1787, it was built on the sturdy ideals of equality and fairness. The founding fathers of the constitutional convention developed the Electoral college system with the best interests of the American people in mind, as the average person was highly under-educated and they did not trust them to make a decision as important as the But over time as society and even our democracy has changed, it has become ridden with flaws and corruption especially in the electoral college and voting system. The effects of the Electoral College’s inefficiencies oppose the very ideas our democracy was built off of. Because of the over-representation of small states, the broken promises of political equality, and …show more content…

The minimum amount of Electoral Votes a state can have is three; one for each senator, and one for each representative member in the House. This means that a state like Wyoming with a population of around half a million will receive three electoral votes, while a state like Nevada with a population 6 times that of Wyoming's, only has double the electoral votes. The Electoral map on Document A clearly shows the inequality of electoral votes given to small states, as 13 states have four or less votes. This means that the individuals vote in these states and many more, are worth more proportionally. Document D really delves into this idea as well, as it synthesizes data from populations of 12 different states whose total is less that the population of Illinois, but have more than double the electoral votes. Illinois, with a population of 12,830,632 has 20 votes in the electorate. Yet the total population of the 12 smallest states (with a population less than 1.5 million) as well as Washington D.C., have a total population less than that of Illinois but have a whopping 44 votes in the electorate. This clearly goes to show the massive over-representation of small low populated states, as their popular vote, has a bigger effect on the actual outcome of the election. This idea brings about many more issues as …show more content…

This means that whoever takes majority, plus one vote, will win it all. For example, If the state of Nevada was voting between two candidates and the popular vote was 49.9% to 50.1%, whoever had the upper hand would receive all of that states slate in the electorate. This then shows for the extreme support of the two party system. It is undeniable that the current Electoral system is quite fond of, and does a good job at supporting the fundamental ideas of our democracy like a 2-party system which then legitimizes the candidates- as Documents C and E explain, but it is this very system that absolutely crushes and hope for a third party or independent candidate. Document D also reveals percentages of the popular votes and electoral votes in two major elections. Both explicitly portray that a third party candidate will never have a chance due to the winner-take all system. Because of the Electoral system as well, and the focus on winning the states electoral votes instead of the population’s as a whole, this means that a candidate can lose the popular election, but still win the presidency (as the 2016 elections show). This breaks the idea of true democracy, the idea of 1 person 1 vote, the idea of political

Show More
Related
593 Words | 3 Pages

“Each state shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.” (Art 2 Sec 1 US Con, Doc 2). Depending on how many people live in a state determines how many electoral votes that state gets. Also each state gets two Senators so that adds two to the amount of electoral votes a state gets. For example California has 53 districts within the state so they get 53 Representatives in the House and two Senators in the Senate so California gets a total of 55 electoral votes, which makes them an important state for candidates.

Read More
1745 Words | 7 Pages

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,

Read More
598 Words | 3 Pages

Electoral College: For the Lose One view to consider that when voting for a president through the electoral college , voters are confused about the election process no more than they are unprepared of the consequences they ace of their votes not being counted. Voting by popular vote when electing a president is the best choice contrary to the electoral college; in favor of defying the people. Americans vote in order to elect a president of their preference to run our country. Voting by popular vote surpasses the whole electoral process by giving the people not just what they want, but what Americans need. Direct election of presidents remains solid as opposed to the “faithless” electoral college.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

For instance, the weight of each vote in Wyoming is about four times more than that of each individual vote in Texas. This is because Texas, with a population of over 25 million, has 32 electoral votes, whereas Wyoming, with a population of 532,668, has 3 electoral

Read More
1092 Words | 5 Pages

Electoral votes are portioned out by adding the number of senate members to the number of house members. This gives smaller states a huge advantage because the number of house members is based on population; meaning, small states who only have one house member about triple the voting power of the individuals that inhabit that state. An example is Wyoming only has one house member, so when the two senate members are added Wyoming’s voting power increases three fold. California, on the other hand, has 53 house members. When the two senate members are added then California’s voting power only increases by less than four percent.

Read More
953 Words | 4 Pages

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).

Read More
904 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
611 Words | 3 Pages

Creating the U.S. Constitution and the democratic values that are associated with, the Founders had some oversight concerning democracy. The electoral college an undemocratic idea within a democratic society. The people vote and, depending on the state, the electors either vote on the outcome of the popular vote or vote what they think. That create a less democratic environment all together. By using the electoral college, the government becomes less of a direct democracy.

Read More
1026 Words | 5 Pages

In Document D, we are shown an example in which we can visually see how one citizens vote weighs more heavily than others depending on the state. While Illinois has a larger population than all twelve states and D.C. depicted

Read More
643 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1134 Words | 5 Pages

Most people think that when they vote that they are voting directly for their political candidate. That is not true. The electoral college plays an even bigger role. In this paper, we will investigate and learn 3 things. First, how the electoral college started.

Read More
1641 Words | 7 Pages

Popular vote is very direct; one vote for every person. It’s a common belief among political critics that the popular vote is a more fair system and will encourage a higher number of voter turnout. Under the restrictions of the Electoral College, specifically in lower populated states, some voters could feel an overwhelming sense of support for a specific candidate. This would give the voter the feeling that their vote would carry no meaning and in turn could cause a lower voter turnout. Since higher populated states have more electoral votes, many believe that the lower populated areas will be neglected.

Read More
298 Words | 2 Pages

Despite the waning support for amending the constitution to alter the way American’s cast their ballots, throughout each election cycle media outlets discuss the fear surrounding the minority candidate, in terms of the popular vote, becoming the President. In an interesting article published by Forbes magazine just before the 2012 elections Taylor Broderick discusses the fifteenth, nineteenth, and twenty-sixth amendments and explains how these create a precedent for altering the U.S. voting system through amending the Constitution (Brodarick, 2012). He also argues that the Electoral College incites voter apathy in states which are not saturated with campaign efforts. In other words, people are more likely to participate in an election if they live in swing-states where candidates are actively campaigning. For these reasons, along with American’s historical opposition, Broderick believes politicians should gain public support for Congressional action, as Bayh did in the late 1960s, to throw out the current voting procedure.

Read More
905 Words | 4 Pages

So, like that even if there happens to be a third party than no vote will be given to the one party because any rational people will not vote and other people will either vote to the Democrats or to the republicans. So, third party will be automatically out of the political system. Some political parties are organized and some are disorganized. When the party is weak and disorganized, vote rate tends to be lower than strong and organized party’s. Whichever party wins gets everything, all benefits of majority and losing party does not get

Read More
736 Words | 3 Pages

In the United States, people always talk about freedom and equality. Especially they want elections could be more democratic. In American Democracy in Peril, Hudson’s main argument regarding chapter five “Election Without the People’s Voice,” is if elections want to be democratic, they must meet three essential criteria, which are to provide equal representation of all citizens, to be mechanisms for deliberation about public policy issues, and to control what government does. Unfortunately, those points that Hudson mentions are what American elections do not have. American elections do not provide equal representation to everyone in the country.

Read More

More about Electoral System Dbq Essay

Open Document