The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

569 Words3 Pages

In the question of whether the Electoral College was or still is a good idea, I would have to say no. Why the Electoral College was made goes back to the Founding Fathers of America, who had been arguing for months on whether Congress or the majority vote should pick the next president. Their compromise led to the Electoral College. However, to me, it seems like a band-aid to an actual solution because they couldn't agree on anything else. Throughout school, I have been told that democracy is a “government by the people”. However, if it is truly by the people, then why does it only take 270 of 538 electoral votes for a president to be chosen? There are more than 340 million people in the US, so how is the president chosen by the people if around 0.00000079% of the votes get to choose who the president is? Unfortunately, that is how it works in America, people go vote when it's time to cast their choice for the next president, no matter what. The only votes that matter when it comes to selecting the president are the ones that come from the electoral college. It's even completely possible for the candidate with the majority of the people's votes to lose! It's even happened 5 times, most recently in 2016! …show more content…

Some argue that the President should be selected by a popular vote, where the candidate with the most votes wins. This would require candidates to consider the wants and needs of the people to secure their votes. It would also give more power to the people, as they would have the ability to vote out a President who does not align with their values. But at this point, with all of the books and the internet, and people ready to educate the curious, is it not time to put the power into the hands of the people instead of an over 200-year-old