ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

1093 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cons of the electoral college

The textbook definition of the Electoral College is “a unique American institution, created by the constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the states parties. Although the Electoral College vote usually reflects a popular majority, less populated states are overrepresented and the winner-take-all rule concentrates campaigns on close states” (Edwards and Wattenberg 643). In the definition itself it notes disproportionate representation which is one of the many flaws within this system. The National Popular Vote Plan is an alternative system that would still use electors to cast their votes but instead it would give each state’s votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote. This plan has …show more content…

The National Popular Vote Plan would eliminate many of the issues seen today while still having characteristics that are present in the current Electoral College. Issues such as disproportionate representation and neglecting smaller states during the campaign would be very minor or even nonexistent. Changing our election process would have clear benefits and would create a system which would have a closer representation of a democracy.
“ The Electoral College operates to create the illusion of popular mandate” ( Riggs, Hobbs, Riggs 2). It makes us believe we are picking our president but in reality the Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who meet anytime between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to decide our president (Dixon 6). These electors are here to represent the United States population of approximately 309,000,000 people. This would mean 1 electoral vote represents 574,000 people (Video 2). Every state must have at least 3 votes in the current system and the District of Columbia gets to vote even when it is not a state while territories like Puerto Rico do not get to vote even when people living there are US citizens. This

Show More
Related
511 Words | 3 Pages

In this plan, the people are able to vote for who they want as president yet the candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win. These electoral votes are what truly decides the next president. The electors of a state cast their vote for the

Read More
587 Words | 3 Pages

The Electoral College is pretty much a process that was established in the Constitution by the founding fathers which was suppose to be a compromise between election of the President by a vote in congress and by the popular vote of citizens. This process consists of the selection of electors, the meeting of the electors is where they vote for the President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. In the Electoral College it contains 538 electors and to win the majority they need to have 270 electoral votes. As well as, the number of electors for every state is equal to the number of Representations that the state has in congress which is based on the population and there is also one vote for each Senator. So, each state has at least three electors and votes.

Read More
514 Words | 3 Pages

However, voters do not vote for a specific elector, they just vote which party they are affiliated with. The popular vote is just as important as the Electoral College vote, but it does not determine the outcome. Fundamentally, the popular vote is just to see how many voters favor which presidential candidate the most. “Democratic and Republican state parties nominate their own slates of electors-some as early as the spring and others as late as October. In many states, elector candidates are picked at congressional district and state conventions, when local activists also pick their delegates to the national convention.”

Read More
1278 Words | 6 Pages

What did you not see the DraStic change it would make in the political system, such as an incourage multi-party system. A few analysts have thought of ideas that do not abolish it but many Electoral College. Their ideas consist of congressional district allegation, proportional allocation, and the Electoral College with super electors. Under the system of congressional district allegation electors would be apportioned one to each congressional district and then the two Senator electors. This plan can help to expand the campaigns playing field.

Read More
518 Words | 3 Pages

The electoral college is a system where people vote for electors. Then the electors communicate with the people and the electors pick the candidates. Next the people vote between democrat and republican parties. The problems with the electoral college voting system is that the electors do not listen to what the people want and they just make their own decisions, there is a chance of a tie in the electoral college, and also the people don't even get to vote on who the electors are. Furthermore, a very large problem with the electoral college is that the electors are not listening to the people.

Read More
1344 Words | 6 Pages

Do We Need the Electoral College? Following the 2016 election many individuals we shocked to find Donald Trump had won the Presidency while not having the popular vote. They were unaware of how the electoral college works and how the president is actually elected through the electoral college rather than the popular vote. But, before we find out if we need the electoral college, we must look into why it was created, and look at the pros and cons of the electoral college as well as the pros and cons of the proposed system to replace it.

Read More
1570 Words | 7 Pages

Proponents of the Electoral College argue that state viewpoints are more important than political minority viewpoints. We shouldn’t tamper with the careful balance of power between the national and state governments. Overall, they believe that the Electoral College has functioned for over 200 years and find the existing system extremely efficient because they feel that electors represent their constituents Proponents of the Electoral College believe that a popular vote would create numerous deficiencies in the system by making candidates too uniform and making them liable to deceptions of the truth (Pass or Fail, 2000). Why change a system that has functioned and elected a handful of respected and successful presidents? The real question though is, has this system truly worked flawlessly for over 200 years, or do we just think it has?

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

Lastly, the Electoral College ignores the will of the people. There are 538 electors and over 300 million people in the United States and only 538 people get to decide who gets to be voted in. Is there a better way then the Electoral College for voting? This question is very opinionated because some people think we don’t need the Electoral College at all and other do. But, I think the Electoral College isn’t that bad of a way, because you wouldn’t want some uneducated adult that has no idea what they are doing decide who they want to run the country.

Read More
998 Words | 4 Pages

What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a system in which the president and vice president are chosen indirectly, alternatively, having them chosen by the direct popular vote of the people. Through the Electoral College, a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes to be declared president. If neither candidate obtains a majority, the US House of Representatives selects the president from the top three contenders. There are many positives and negatives regarding this system of government and after researching and analyzing this topic, I was able to take a stance on whether or not the Electoral College should or should not be abolished.

Read More
735 Words | 3 Pages

The Electoral College is a process. The Electoral College is a number of people from the United States representing the states, casting votes for the election of the president and vice president. The Electoral College has 538 electors, 435 representatives, 100 senators and 3 electors given to the District of Columbia. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. During the Electoral College each of the states would select electors.

Read More
1784 Words | 8 Pages

The Electoral College’s opponents believe that it is an unfair way of doing things because it doesn’t necessarily make every vote count, but they may not realize that it lets every state have a say. The candidate with an absolute majority in each state receives the elector’s votes, therefore it really boils down to a popular election just on a state by state basis, rather than a national one. “The proposals to abolish the Electoral College are proposals to abolish the Federal principle in presidential elections”(Best). The Electoral College has history on it’s side, the system they use really works, it is the best option we have, and it needs to be

Read More
1259 Words | 6 Pages

The United States Electoral College is an American system designed by the founding fathers to conduct elections. However, it has become subject to controversy in the 2016 Presidential election. The unique aspect of the Electoral College is how electors are awarded to presidential candidates using a state-by-state method of determining the number of electors. While the Electoral College is fundamental to the founders of America to protect the nation, its fatal flaws are too damaging to the people of the United States. In my opinion, the Electoral College needs to be reexamined in order to establish a new way of electing Presidents and Vice Presidents.

Read More
646 Words | 3 Pages

It is giving the smaller states equal power compared to the larger states. If it was based on popular votes, the people around the coasts would dominate and dictate the election. The constitution is big on giving states rights and power, so this helps give all states power. Getting rid of the popular vote would get rid of this idea that the peoples vote does actually impact the election. We get several voters who do really care about the election.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

Electoral college has been with us since the birth of the constitution, and to this day we are still using this type of system to this day. The Electoral College is a system that the United States uses to elect our upcoming presidents and vice presidents. Each state has electors equal to their senate member and house of representatives, however who ever gets the highest popular vote in the state gets the electoral vote. The issue is the Electoral College do not give votes to the people, but to the states. Which has some unfair consequences.

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

A sad truth comes to light as the results of a tight race for the next president starts to roll in. The truth is that the dysfunctional system that demonstrates the whole voting process takes the future of America 's leader, the one who will set many precedents and lessons for future generations to come, into the hands of former politicians and notable political figures, who take on the careless and unnecessary role of an elector. These electors are part of a voting system called the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a group of 538 people that are elected at state conventions to officially vote for the next presidential candidate based on each state 's popular vote. This structure is old and should be banned for several reasons.

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

Related Topics

Open Document