Essay On Electoral College

445 Words2 Pages

Generally, in a democratic system, when voters elect representatives, they elect the leaders who will shape the future of their society. This is why elections empower ordinary citizens: They allow them to influence the future policies of their government, and thus, their own future. However, the United States relies on a complex federal system of government. It’s voting system is particular by the way that it depends on the Electoral College. In other words, under the Electoral College, Americans, technically, do not vote directly for the president. By analyzing the nature of the modern American electoral system, this short essay will discuss how the complicated and sometimes confusing process of the United States voting system have failed …show more content…

Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to its number of U.S. representatives and U.S senators combined. Since the 1800s, states have held presidential elections to let voters choose electors. Each party of each state nominates a slate of electors pledged to support their party’s nominees for a president and vice-president. Members of Congress and federal employees are barred from serving as electors. Voters in each state casts ballots for the party slate of electors representing their choice for president. In the forty-eight states, whichever slate wins the most vote is elected to be the state’s electors. In effect, whichever presidential ticket wins the most vote in a state gets all that states’ electoral votes. Then, electors meet in their respective state capitals and cast their electoral votes. To win, a candidate needs a majority of electoral votes (one more than half, or 270) to win the presidency. In other words, politically speaking, the electoral college is beneficial in the way it preserves the federal system by giving the sates a role in the election of the president. Also, it gives small states a say in the election by giving them a share of electors that are larger than their share of population. However, the public opinion on the Electoral College shows a large deficit in the American voting system. Polls show that most Americans (about 60%) favor abolishing the electoral college and electing the president by popular