Essay Electoral College Should Be Abolished

U.S. citizens are given the right to vote every four years in November. The electoral votes are based on the population of a state and affect the election in the long run. The Senate of a state is granted two electoral votes towards the national election. The rest of the electoral votes are based on the popular vote in the districts of a state. The Electoral College was created by the U.S. founding fathers because they were afraid that a dictator could manipulate the votes of the people. The Electoral College is a controversial topic because some people believe in keeping it, others believe in abolishing it, and some would just like it to be changed. The Electoral College should be abolished because it is outdated in the common era, it is unfair
to the majority vote, and it discriminates the population of a state. It is important that the Electoral College be abolished because it is outdated. The main reason the Electoral College was created was because the United States founding fathers were afraid of direct election. Alexander Hamilton was one of the United States founding fathers and he said “It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder. This evil was not least to be dreaded in the election of a magistrate, who was to have so important an agency in the administration of the government as the president of the United States. But precautions which have been so happily concerted in the system under consideration, promise an effectual security against this mischief” (Document #1). Hamilton is explaining the true reasoning for the Electoral College to be made. Basically, at the time, it was going to affect the Americans in a positive way. The founding fathers believed this system could protect American citizens from evil and make it more useful for electing a new president. The Electoral College was only planned to be used in the past, allowing more power to smaller states and to make sure no opinion could be easily persuaded. This is one reason why the Americans should plan a new system that could more efficient for everyone and allow people to have as much power as possible, no matter where they live. Another reason the Electoral College should be abolished is because it is unfair to the majority vote. Document #3 shows the results from the election of 1824. John Quincy Adams was elected president with 84 electoral votes and only 30.9% popular vote. Andrew Jackson received 99 electoral votes and 41.3% popular vote. Andrew Jackson outran Adams in both the electoral vote and the popular vote. This election was the only election where the candidate who received more votes was not elected president because of the bitterness towards Jackson. The election of Adams was said to be a bargain. This proves that even the Electoral College is unstable and does not benefit the people. Americans should be able to express their opinion towards the election. This system gives far too much power to the Senate of the state. The Senate gets two whole electoral votes just for themselves and the rest of the electoral votes go towards the people and the district they live in. The people should have all the power because they are the ones who will daily be affected by the president elected and his/her choices. There should still be a Senate to help control the state and serve with the president but their votes should count the same as the people. The best benefit for the United States would be to get rid of the Electoral College and have the majority opinion system in effect. It is more reasonable for the people to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice and the votes go to one or the other. Then the votes are counted and the candidate with the most votes becomes president. The electoral votes are irrelevant because they are different for every state. The last reason that the Electoral College should be abolished is because it is based on the population of a state.
Document #2 shows a graph that represents the number of electoral votes based off the population. It is shown that the more people there are in a state, the more electoral votes the state receives. This does not mean that votes in a larger state count for more, in fact that is incorrect. Document #4 explains the how many voters are represented by each electoral vote. It is proven that smaller populated states are given more power towards the election and their votes. This is because there are less electoral votes, allowing their vote to count for a greater percentage. It is unfair to someone who can not afford to live in a certain place that allows more voting powers. Votes should not be based on population but should simply be counted for every person. It would surprisingly be easier to count the votes for every person instead of having to count the votes and translating them into electoral votes based on districts. Electoral votes give less power to the people and it can be unfair because even though a president elect may have the majority vote, they may not become president if they do not have the most electoral votes. This is unreasonable because if the majority of voters choose a certain president elect, that person should become president. The Electoral College is inefficient to the voters living in the United
States. Although many people in the United States have favored the Electoral College, the system has done an injustice to the pride of the people. The U.S. citizens have been treated unfairly because they have not been ruled by the president in which the majority voted for. The people should be given the right of voting for themselves only. A senate should not be voting in any way for the people. Every citizen eligible to vote in the U.S. should be able to vote for their opinion and not be affected by others. The majority system should be put in effect and the president elect with the most votes should become the president once and for all.