Essay On Electoral College President

1494 Words6 Pages

Zach Cirillo ENGL 102.948
Fall 2015, Meztli Essay # 2

Electing the President of the United States

I have never had a strong interest in politics. At the beginning of this presidential election, I really started to develop a curiosity in this important part of our country’s democratic system. I was intrigued with the variety of beliefs and opinions of the various candidates in this upcoming 2016 election. With the addition of Donald Trump and the excitement he brings to the political campaign, I plan to remain attentive to future debates and the campaigning. I realize the importance of politics and understand that it is my responsibility as an American citizen to be knowledgeable of this topic. A better understanding of topics …show more content…

The Electoral College is a process that involves the selection of electors, who will later vote for the President and Vice President (Kriner). There are 538 electors in the Electoral College and a majority vote of 270 electors is required in order to elect a President. Each state is entitled to a set number of electors, and the expectation is that they choose the best persons to represent their respective state and the United States of America as a whole. One elector is allotted for each of its members of the House of Representatives and two for the state’s senators. Every presidential candidate has his/her own group of electors in the respective state from which he/she is running. The candidate’s political party typically determines the electors that will best represent the presidential candidate. When American citizens cast votes for a particular candidate, the citizens are actually casting votes for that candidate’s electors. The meeting of the electors takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, following the presidential election (Milesi-Ferretti). The meeting of electors takes place in the electors’ respective states and the electors cast their votes for President and Vice President on separate ballots. Each states electors’ votes are casted on a “Certificate of Vote” which is later sent to Congress …show more content…

They feel this system provides an advantage to swing states that will have an influential advantage. The Electoral College method of election gives an advantage to the smaller states where a popular vote election provides an advantage to larger states. The United States is the only country that elects one of the most powerful men in the world without having to secure the highest number of votes