The Electoral College is a controversial voting system that has been part of the United States election process since it’s very beginning. Created during the constitutional convention of 1787, the Electoral College was intended to increase the voting power of states with a low population. A solely popular vote was thought to ignore the minority of smaller states (Jost and Giroux). In response, the electoral college would involve a group of elected state representatives that would decrease the influence of populous states over smaller states. This system is still implemented today and continues to hold similar workings to that of the past. The number of electors granted to each state is the sum of senators and House representatives for that state (Jost and Giroux). Only senators, representatives, and anyone holding an office of trust or profit are prohibited from becoming electors. On election day, US citizens vote for their Electoral College representatives, and those chosen become leading players in the presidential election. This system settled disputes between states in the past and has survived for over two centuries; however, some critics now find the system to be flawed and out of date (Jost & Giroux).
The purpose of the electoral college is to elect the president and vice president of the United States of America. Out of the 538 electoral votes, a 270 majority is needed for one to achieve the presidency. The electoral and popular majority are independent from one
In the United States, the Electoral College determines the victor of a national election. Each state has its own number of electoral votes, which is determined by state population. This system is a “winner takes all” system. Which means the candidate with 50 percent or more of the votes in an individual state gets all of that states electoral votes. The 2016 presidential election will have 538 electoral votes, this means that the election will be decided who is the first candidate to 270 votes. Some people have seen this system as outdated and unjust. Many are looking at a way to change the system and others would like to do away with the system
One of the arguments in this article is that the Electoral College is outdated and should be removed. Then, it states that the Electoral College symbolizes "America's original sin," slavery. When slavery was common in the U.S, a direct popular vote would have the south at a disadvantage because at the time the Constitution gave no voting rights to the black population. Therefore, the North would have an advantage because of their large white population which did have the right to vote. The three-fifths compromise counted the slave population for voting purposes only, each slave being three-fifths of a white person, which gave the south more electoral votes. Another argument is that the Electoral College gives smaller states an advantage. Apparently,
The Electoral College is comprised of 538 votes, and the votes are split between the States Based on population. Whenever a party wins a state there is a representative handpicked by the party to be sent and vote for their party’s candidate though they are not legally obligated to do so. It is a winner take all system so whoever end up with the most electoral votes wins the presidency.
Last November, Donald Trump became the forty-fifth President of the United States even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.7 Million votes. Donald Trump won because of the Electoral College. The Electoral College gives each state a number of electors that can range from three to fifty-five depending on the size of the state. The number of electors is decided by combining the number of senators and representatives that state has. To win the presidential election, a candidate would have to get 270 electoral votes, if neither candidate gets 270 electoral votes then the senate and the House of Representatives get to choose the president or vice president. This system completely ignores the popular vote and the will of the people.
Throughout the past presidential election, and many others, the ideal of electing the president by popular vote has been at an all-time high conversation topic compared to previous years. While many argue that the Electoral College defeats the purpose of voting, and diminishes the majority’s voice, this is certainly not the case. Without the Electoral College, elections would quickly become, and encourage, radical and corrupt ways in their voting systems, that could possibly result in a detrimental nationwide political crisis of voter fraud, and a rise to direct democracy.
The electoral college in the Constitution has the purpose of electing the President with the cooperation of both Congress and the people. The process consists of citizens first selecting electors based on the quantity of delegates in each state, which then become known as the electoral college, and then compromise to elect the President as well as the Vice President. Although there have been controversies on candidates not winning the election when they have received the popular vote, the electoral college provides equality among the small states as well as checks and sets boundaries towards the preferences of the majority. Not only is balance emplaced, but delegates are also elected with the incorporation of knowledge in the government rather than interest.
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.
The Electoral College is something that affects every citizen in this country. The Presidential election is also something that many people feel passionate about, regardless of where you are. In the Presidential Election, Minnesota has voted for the democratic candidate almost every time in the last 100 years. However, Waconia has not been the best representation of the state's views, since it is one of the most conservative cities in the nation, making it a very unique place to live, politically. Because I have lived in Waconia and Minnesota my whole life, I have seen both sides of the Electoral College and how it affects my surroundings. The Electoral College is valuable for this state in the sense that it gives Minnesota some importance come election, even if we do vote democratic nine times out of ten. For the city of Waconia, the Electoral College might make citizens here think it is not the best system since most republican voters might feel like their votes mean nothing in the end, because of the consistent trend of this state voting for the democratic candidate.
The Electoral College what can I say to be honest, I know nothing about the Electoral College, but I will do my best to explain it to people who might know and to help them know so when they 're seventeen they know like I should. So the Google definition of the Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who cast votes in the election of the President and Vice President. I would have not given that explanation, it would have told you it is a College. So helping you and myself, I will first explain how it works, then how Electors are selected, and the qualifications to be one and their restriction on who the Electors can vote for. Then the Election 1800 and the 12th Amendment. Then I will explain times where
Electoral College is a block, or weighed, voting system that is designed to give more power to the states with more votes, but allows for small states to swing an election, as happened in 1876. Under this system, each state is assigned a specific number of votes that is proportional to its population, so that each state's power is representative of its population. So, while winning the popular vote may not ensure a candidate's victory, a candidate must gain popular support of a particular state to win the votes in that state. The goal of any candidate is to put together the right combination of states that will give him or her 270 electoral votes.
The 2016 presidential election was an example of the discrepancy between the Electoral College votes and the national popular votes. If the last presidential election had been decided by a national popular vote, then Hillary Clinton would have won the presidency because she had the majority of votes. However, due to the design of the Electoral College, Donald Trump won the election for president in 2016; although, he lost the national popular vote. Just as some people questioned the effectiveness of the Electoral College during some of the previous elections, several people questioned the effectiveness of the Electoral College again in 2016. The debate about whether the Electoral College should be kept or
The Electoral College is a system that has tremendously impacted the American election for several years. This “system” is a group of people in which represent the U.S. states as they cast votes towards the election of the president and the vice president. The Democratic and Republican state parties are the ones who nominate who will be each state’s electors. These electors will then meet and cast their official vote for who they see better fit as the president. It is debated over whether the Electoral College should be abolished or changed.
The Electoral College has always been a topic up for debate. From the very beginning, its method for electing a president was criticized. Even now, well over two-hundred years after the idea was first introduced, people are still questioning whether or not it is our best option. There have been a very large number of proposals suggested to change the ways of the Electoral College, but all of them have failed. Regardless of the views that it is outdated, or your vote doesn’t matter with the current system, the Electoral College has stood the test of time. “It is an institution that has survived as part of the democratic process, but its relevancy to current political realities has been questioned time and time again”(McCollester). People still wonder why the system is invincible. Why, in the face of so many attempts to reform or destroy it, is the Electoral College still in place?
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
What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a system that our Founding Fathers established in the Constitution in which representatives from the 50 states elect the President of the United States. The system begins with the people electing representatives to represent them, and then the representatives meet so they can vote for the next President and Vice President. The votes from each representative are then counted by Congress and are able to elect the candidate that has the most votes. According to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (2013), “The Electoral College consists of 538 electors…270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.” Every state has an