In recorded history there have been five instances where the United States has elected a President that did not achieve the office by popular vote, rather these politicians were elected by the system that our founding fathers enacted known as the Electoral College. This system was made to protect the people, and never to confront the very democracy that makes America the great country we all know and love. The Electoral College in recent years, has not lived up to the expectations that the Founding Fathers once wrote in the constitution. Because of the problems that have arisen, many believe that abrogating the Electoral College will not only benefit the American citizens, but as well as the government as a whole. Although the Electoral …show more content…
But look at today. The media rules the elections by letting people see the candidate constantly and keeping up with what they stand for and will try to accomplish. The electoral college no longer needs to make the decision, because we can now make that decision. Proponents of the Electoral College often claim that the "winner take all" arrangement gives a state more attention, but the exact opposite is true for states with one-sided races. If the Electoral College is abolished, all voters will be equally important, as they should be, and candidates will have a healthy incentive to campaign wherever they think they can persuade the most voters. More importantly, they will be less distracted by statewide polls and will be able to pay more attention to the issues. As a result, we still elect our President through an antiquated, indirect process that distorts and complicates Presidential politics and violates basic democratic principles. Five presidential elections have occurred where the electoral college has overruled the popular vote. “For only the fourth time in U.S. history, the presidential campaign has ended with an electoral college winner who won fewer votes than his opponent” (Savage). Five times now with our current president Donald J. Trump. Being citizens of the United States and living under a democracy, our voices should be heard. The Electoral College however overrules the popular vote; the
Despite the Electoral College system being founded by the founding fathers in America and being there as long as the Constitution exists, many people still do not have sufficient knowledge on how it works. The Electoral College does not provide honest presidential elections rather it has the potential to undo the will of people at any point from the selection of electors to the vote tallying in Congress (Shaw, 3). Electoral College in the United States has played a major role in depressing the voter's turnout. Every State is given an equal number of electoral votes despite the population and in turn, the system has put in place no measure to encourage the voters to take part in the elections. Besides, the system distorts
One of the reason why the Electoral College should not be destroyed, is that it helps the candidates who may struggle with the popular vote. In 1980, for Presidential Election, candidate Ronald Reagan barely won the popular vote (50.7%). With the help of the Electoral Vote, Reagan took 91% of it, which then made him the winner (Doc B). Also in 1992, Candidate Bill Clinton, did not even have half the country on his side (43%). With the help of the Electoral Vote, Clinton
Every year on the fourth of November an election is taken place to select the next president of the United States. Just recently, in the 2016 election, Hilary Clinton won the popular vote and Donald Trump won the electoral vote, in which he was elected president. This made many Americans question if the electoral college system is outdated and unfair and if the direct popular vote is a more effective way of electing the president. This has happened twice where the candidate who has the popular vote did not win the presidency. The problem that has arisen is that the rules of the presidential election need to be replaced so that it will reflect the true opinion of the U.S. citizens. According to Edwards III, under the constitution, the
The voting process in America appears straightforward, but it is a very complex, complicated system. The Electoral College is America’s current voting system. The Electoral College still serves its intended purpose, but with increasing political activity among Americans it has caused a need to reform this process. Research suggests that the Electoral College system should be amended because it poorly illustrates democracy, is outdated and the majority of Americans are in favor of abolishing the system.
As citizens of the United State of America, one of our most important rights is that of which to vote. By voting, the general population has a say in who its leaders are. Votes for local, state, and even federal representatives directly reflect who the constituents want in office. However, America’s highest office is not elected by a vote of the people. Instead we use a confusing and outdated system called the Electoral College. Our president is not elected by the people, but by 538 electors who can legally vote for whomever they choose. Several times in our nations history an elector has voted against the people’s will. Three presidents have been elected into office by the electoral college and
Bush. His opposing candidate, Al Gore, received about 540,000 more popular votes than Bush; however, Bush won the electoral vote, 271 to 266, consequently making him president. This has happened on four occasions, which is over 7% of the time, being a much larger percentage than you think. Whenever this has happened, it’s been a hideous mess. Looking back at the year 2000, a majority of the nation obviously wanted Al Gore as president; however, the Electoral College didn’t think the nation’s people genuinely knew what they wanted. The Electoral College might’ve seen an attribute in George W. Bush that the nation didn’t see. The College might have had a unquestionably exceptional reason for Al Gore not being president: Maybe he would have messed up countless times, no one will know for
First, The Electoral College prevents majority rule and should not be abolished. ”The Electoral College gives states with small populations a measure of protection against domination by states with large populations. It levels the political playing field a bit” (Williams, Walter E.). It is said that Hillary Clinton won popular vote majority. Therefore, if the nation were not encumbered with outdated electoral college. Clinton, instead of our present one, would be the next president of the United States. In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote just as Clinton supposedly did. Such outcomes have led to calls to desert the Constitution's Article two provisions for the state electors to select presidents. Before the U.S. deserts the Electoral College, let's consider the purpose it performs. According to 2013 Census Data, Nine states- California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and Michigan have populations
The United States, well known for its democracy, holds elections every four years to elect its President. Every American citizen over the age of 18 has a right to cast a vote in the presidential election. The voting process, although it seems easy and straightforward, can be very complicated. In the 2000 election, Al Gore captured the majority of votes, but George Bush won. The reason for this strange outcome and why Al Gore lost was because of the Electoral College. The Electoral College is voting system where different states are given a certain amount of votes in the election, and which ever candidate wins a state, is given that state’s votes. The Electoral College is out of date, and should be replaced by the Popular Vote system,
Along with the “winner takes all” rule, the electoral should be abolished when deciding the president of the United States because of the chance that the president can win the election without the support of the majority of voters.
When you become of age to vote in the U.S., which is eighteen-years-old you are given the opportunity be a part of deciding on who becomes president. Because it is something that gives you more of a say in what the government does, voting is something that we as Americans cherish very much. After the current election, many people are questioning if in fact we as citizens have any power on who becomes the president. In the U.S., a candidate running for president must have the most delegates to become president. Delegates are given to each state according to how many senators and house representatives the state has, thus is what for many is the problem with the electoral college. They feel that the popular vote, which is different from the electoral
Since its establishment the electoral college has always come under fire for the way it executes the election process in the United States. Many people believe that a direct popular vote is the best way to elect president and vice president, rather than the indirect election process used now. Because of this conflict, the question of whether or not the electoral college should be abolished continues to be a heated debate, especially after the most recent presidential election. Though the electoral college system does have some flaws, like every system does, it should not be abolished. The electoral college system should not be abolished because it allows the smaller populated states to have
Bush was proclaimed the winner over Vice President Al Gore by 537 votes in the state of Florida. This undemocratic result fired many citizens’ wish of reforming and even eliminating the Electoral College. Therefore, this current system of the Electoral College is in need of a reform because there are many dangers attached. For instance, the current system allows for the House of Representatives to choose the winner of the election if no candidate receives a majority vote. In addition, if electors fail to vote in agreement with other voters and the current allocation of electoral votes, the candidate without the majority vote of the citizens can win the election. On the whole, the Electoral College is an undemocratic system that that violates our belief that we can all make a difference by voting.
To begin with, the electoral college is an undemocratic system in which the popular vote isn’t taken into account because it all depends on the electoral vote. A fair democratic system would be if the candidate that wins the popular vote also wins the electoral vote because the people should have the power to choose and have a voice. For instance in the election of 1888 Jackson won the popular vote with 5,534,488 but lost the electoral vote to Harrison who won 233 electoral votes; therefore showing that the vote of the people does not matter (Doc G).This example reflects that the power to elect president relies on the electoral vote meaning the senators and representatives. Overall the electoral college must be abolished because the presidency must be won by the people’s votes because they are
The United States of America was based on the foundation of equality, justice, freedom, and opportunity for all. However, the Electoral College contradicts these American values. The Electoral College was a system created by the Framers of the Constitution in 1787, and they believed that the people were not educated enough to choose their president by themselves so they created an indirect democracy. In this system, all states get one electoral vote for each of their senators and representatives. Each state has two senators and the house of representatives gets votes based on their population. The system also works in a winner-take all method so the candidate only needs to win one more than half of the electoral votes to get them all. However, times have changed and the American people are capable and educated enough to choose their president directly. The electoral college demands to be abolished due to being undemocratic, the overrepresentation of small states, and the injustice to third parties.
First, The Electoral College prevents majority rule and should not be abolished. ”The Electoral College gives states with small populations a measure of protection against domination by states with large populations. It levels the political playing field a bit” (Williams, Walter E.). It is said that Hillary Clinton won popular vote majority. Therefore, if the nation were not burdened with antiquated electoral college. She, instead of donald trump, would be the next president of the United States. In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote just as Clinton supposedly did. Such outcomes have led to calls to abandon the Constitution's Article two provisions for the state electors to select presidents. Before we abandon the Electoral College, let's consider the functions it performs. According to 2013 Census Data, Nine states- California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and Michigan have populations that totally roughly