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Why Is The Electoral College Necessary

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The presidential election is the biggest and most important election held in the United States. In fact, during the Presidential election of 2012, approximately 57.5% of the registered voting population exercised their voting rights, while the 2014 congressional election turnout rate of 41.9 percent has been its lowest turnout rate since 1978. However, what these citizens who vote in the Presidential election may or may not know is that their votes do not directly influence who is chosen as president. What it does count toward is the number of Electoral College votes that a candidate receives, which would ultimately secure their presidency. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors, whom each candidate needs at least 270 of their votes …show more content…

Although many have made their case against the Electoral College system, it is a necessary institution in the Presidential election because it preserves Federalism and encourages the two party system.
One reason why the Electoral College is a necessary evil is because it secures the power of the states in the election, thereby upholding Federalism. As previously indicated, when citizens vote, they are voting for the amount of electors in their state to vote for their candidate of choice. The number of these electoral votes varies from state to state due to the fact that they are made up of the sum of its state’s Senators and House Representatives. This means that larger states have more power in elections because they have greater number of Representatives, while Senators play a smaller role due to the fact that every state has two Senators. However, the means in which this advantage over small states is combated is that the population of small states would count toward more electoral votes than the population of the larger states like Texas or California. Although the aforementioned states would have an advantage regardless of this clause, small states would still be respected as participants and maintain some power because Presidential …show more content…

This is an issue that occurred in the aforementioned 2000 Presidential election, which created several controversies. During that election, George W. Bush of the Republican Party attained 50,456,002 popular votes and won 271 electoral votes, while his competitor Al Gore of the Democratic Party won the popular vote by 50,999,897 votes and only won 266 electoral votes. With such a small margin of victory in both the popular and electoral votes, there is no wonder why this election is highly contested. Considering this particular event, without the ability for citizens to see their vote directly influence an election, some consider not voting at all. In fact, it is well known that on average 40% of the U.S. population choose to opt out of participating on Election Day. Although many have debated on their reasoning, the Electoral College system may be a noteworthy cause. As a democratic nation by the people and for the people, citizens feel betrayed when they believe that their vote isn’t worth anything. Therefore, the system they thought they knew and loved fails them. It is essential for citizen’s voices to be heard in a sea of dispute and many see their vote as a method for this to take place. However, when an unpopular candidate is elected President by a small margin it is understandable to believe

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The Electoral College has been our presidential election procedure since 1787. This system was created to indirectly choose the president in a way that fits the desire of the citizens, which also prevents uninformed voters from deciding upon the country’s leader. Each state receives one electoral vote for each member of Congress, which totals up to 538 electors.

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The Electoral College is 538 electors who vote to choose the President and Vice-President for the United States of America. The candidate who receives a majority of electoral vote gets the chance to sit at the desk in the oval office. How the Electoral College works: Every four years, voters have the chance to vote for who they want to be President and Vice President, but the candidates who get the most votes wins the state's electoral votes. The 538 votes gets distributed to each state, each state start that with three votes, The remaining votes gets distributed according to the population of each state. When voters go to vote, they're basically telling their state they want it to use their Electoral vote.

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“...the single representative from Wyoming, representing 500,000 voters, would have as much say as the 55 representatives from California, who represent 35 million voters” (Document F). States with less population have more say than a state with a larger population. California’s population is 70 times larger than the state of Wyoming’s. A larger population should have more say. the idea should not be that smaller states should have more representation because they are smaller; it should be that a state with larger population should have more representation.

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A single citizen’s vote really does not matter. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. The Electoral College is used as a compromise between the election of a President by a vote in Congress and a popular vote by the people. The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same.

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816 Words | 4 Pages

The Electoral College is the intuition that formally elects the president. Each state has a certain amount of electors assigned to it, that number is based on how many representative that states as in congress. It is made up of 538 members which is the sum of the 435representative, 100 senators, and 3 electors given to the District of Columbia. In order to win the election a presidential candidate needs to receive a majority of the votes (270). The topic of whether the Electoral College is still a necessary part of today’s election process is highly controversial.

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The distribution of electoral votes acts as though less people live where they do, and more people live where they don’t, meaning that in the vast majority of states citizens are either over- or underrepresented (Document A). By beginning to distribute electoral votes based on Congressional representatives, the Electoral College gives an unfair advantage in voting power to citizens of smaller states, and reduces the voting power held by larger states. In short, the Electoral College essentially deems that some residents are worth more than others. The elections of 1980 and 1992 must once again be taken into consideration as, between them, 25,463,258 votes, cast by citizens of the United States, were completely dismissed by the Electoral College (Document B). While neither of the candidates would have won, the fact that the votes of citizens can be so blatantly ignored is troubling.

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The Electoral College has been one of the most debated topics in politics ever since its inception. The original idea behind the College was that, back in the 1700s, when communications were slow, voters were uninformed, and votes were counted by hand, the Framers needed a streamlined and efficient system for electing the President. The college worked – and made sense – back then. The question is: does it still apply today? Today, Americans have the technology to vote directly for a President, yet they don’t.

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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.

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904 Words | 4 Pages

Several years after the United States came to be, the Constitutional Convention met to determine how the new nation should govern itself. The delegates saw that it was crucial to have a president and vice president, but the delegates did not want these offices to reflect how the colonies were treated under the British rule. The delegates believed that the president’s power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a body of people who represent the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the electing of the president and vice president. Many citizens feel that the Electoral College goes against our nation’s principle of representative democracy, while others

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Did you know that on election day you do not vote directly for president. Many people don’t like that they don’t ultimintly decide for president. They however don’t understant that it is there for a quite a few reasons. The first is that the founding fathers created the electoral college, second that it ensures that every state gets a say in who the president is, and number three is that it makes sure that the president is chosen by a majority vote and not a popular vote. When the founding fathers built this country they made the electoral college so that the presadent could be picked by an educated population.

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No longer should we stand for this we have to insure that votes are actually making a difference in our country. What is the point not voting if we are just ignored and tossed aside? The Electoral College is the sole reason why some people just do not care about voting, because they feel like they don't make a difference in the matter, and that is correct in some degree because the Electoral College makes it that

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612 Words | 3 Pages

The electoral college also helps the small states have an opinion that actually is heard in the presidential election. In class, it was discussed that Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota together, though their combined population is less than that of Oklahoma, each of those states has three electoral votes, whereas Oklahoma just has seven votes. Going by electoral votes, a candidate would have a better chance at winning the election if they won over Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota versus Oklahoma. With the electoral college, a candidate could win over all thirty-nine small states and win the entire election. Though the candidate could be supported by less than a quarter of the population,

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619 Words | 3 Pages

The Presidential elections occur every four years. Which provide candidates’ time to share their political ideals with the general population. Once voting occurs the Electoral College takes its role. To become president it 's required to have 270 electoral votes. But, the process of getting to president is disproportional.

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As an encouragement to vote most of us have probably been told, “every vote counts” at some point in our lives. In reality, this is not true in presidential elections due to the Electoral College and what it does. The Electoral College has flaws in it that can prohibit the outcome of the election from accurately reflecting whom a majority the people of the country cast their vote for. Not only will he abolishment of the electoral college change the outcome of elections, it can change the whole campaign process and the way some people in less represented states feel about voting increasing voter turnout.

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The presidential election is an opportunity for Americans to practice their right to vote. They are given the chance to impact future laws and have their opinions be heard on a federal level. However, the method in which this is to be done lessen the importance of it. The United States elects its president through the Electoral College, and while the system may give an appearance of a democracy, this is not completely true. The Electoral College is not wholly democratic; it ignores accepted American values of equality and freedom that it is supposed to represent.

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