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The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

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Electoral College Paper The Electoral College is a system which compromises between popular vote and vote in Congress. Instead of having only a vote of majority or a vote of just Congress, the Electoral College works by first having a vote of population where you are voting for your candidates electors. After this vote, the electors meet in their respective states and they cast their votes for President and Vice President. To win the presidency, the candidate needs at least 270 votes out of 538. The Electoral College was established in 1787 and has been used ever since to vote for the President. The question now stands is the Electoral College still needed and why or why not? Firstly, it is important to take into account the context of the …show more content…

They believed that citizens would vote for the “favorite sons” of their home state. Another reason was to prevent bigger states from dominating the smaller states. According to Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Paper Number 68, the Electoral College was created as a compromise between large and small states. They were worried that states such as Massachusetts, New York, etc would dominate the presidency so they created this system (Brookings). However, there is now more technology and advancements to fix these issues that were faced during the creation of the Electoral College. So although the Electoral College may have been a good idea back in 1787, it might be time to reconsider this system with the advancements we have made in mind. There are however many valid reasons and benefits that come from the Electoral College system. The Electoral College helps represent small states and provide equal voices, as well as preventing a tyranny of the …show more content…

In conclusion, there are many reasons as to why we should keep the electoral college, as well as why we should abolish the electoral college. Keeping the electoral college enforces balance of power by making sure bigger states do not dominate over smaller states and prevents disproportionate influence, federalism by making candidates gain support from other states, and stability by resulting in clear and accurate outcomes. In today’s modern day, I believe the electoral college is not needed. Getting rid of the electoral college gets rid of democratic discrepancies as winning the presidency with just electoral votes and not popular votes undermines democratic values, unequal representation by giving smaller states more power, and lastly gets rid of outdated mechanisms. However, I do believe measures need to be taken to ensure that the bigger states do not dominate the smaller states and everyone gets a fair, equal

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