The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

These unknown electors are the true people who determine the outcome of the election, not the citizens of the United States. Furthermore, these electors have no Constitutional provisions that require them to follow the will of the citizens (“About the Electors”). Some states do have laws which require electors to vote in accordance to the popular vote of each respective state. However, these states only punish disobedience by a small fine; which varies by state, however the amount is usually around $1000 (Edwards “What Happens If Faithless Electors Swing the Results?”). Electors who vote against the will of the citizens are called “Faithless Electors.” Although faithless electors are rare, only 157 faithless electors in United States history have ever existed (“Faithless Electors”), their existence in the Electoral College is deeply troubling. Having the possibility of overturning the citizen’s votes is

Each congressional district in a state would decide an electoral vote, and the remaining two electoral votes would go to the winner of the popular vote in each state. However, the congressional district voting plan is susceptible to gerrymandering. The Oxford English Dictionary defines gerrymandering as manipulating a state or constituency in order to gain an unfair advantage (“Gerrymandering”). This means districts could be redrawn to favor one political party over another. This is prevalent in North Carolina’s congressional discrict, especially in the 12th congressional district of North Carolina (Ingalls and Moore 60). The possibility of gerrymandering is the main weakness of this system, as its prevalence in North Carolina could easily spread nationwide. The inevitable human biases when drawing districts would make this voting system inadequate compared to the modified proportional voting system, which is not susceptible to this