Should We Abolish Or Finish The Electoral College
2) What is the Electoral College? What are the consequences of electing the president of the United States using the Electoral College? Should we abolish or retain the Electoral College? Why?
The Electoral College
Emily Ballou Contrary to popular belief, America’s presidents are not elected by direct democratic vote of the people. Rather, the United States Constitution says that they are elected by the Electoral College.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors from the various states forming the Electoral College (EC), who cast ballots for the candidate receiving majority support from his or her particular state. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.
Established in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention, …show more content…
Citizens believe that their one vote does not really matter or make a real difference, and they are basically correct.
To be a true democracy, the people should have the power to elect who they want as their officials. The problem is though, we are not a true democracy; we are a compromised, partial democracy. This is why the voting system should adhere to the desires of our citizens.
There are numerous negative points to having the Electoral College. The Electoral College weighs the votes from smaller states more than larger ones because each state's electoral votes are equivalent to the number of House and Senate seats it has, thus giving one of those smaller state’s votes the power to really make a difference. Secondly, the Electoral College only acknowledges majority votes of the states and ignore the minority votes. Those who do not agree with everyone else are not represented at all.
If the Electoral College was abolished, then presidential candidates would campaign for the most individual votes, thus providing citizens with elections where each and every vote does matter. This would then lead to increased voter turnout and better representation of
The Electoral College
Emily Ballou Contrary to popular belief, America’s presidents are not elected by direct democratic vote of the people. Rather, the United States Constitution says that they are elected by the Electoral College.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors from the various states forming the Electoral College (EC), who cast ballots for the candidate receiving majority support from his or her particular state. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.
Established in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention, …show more content…
Citizens believe that their one vote does not really matter or make a real difference, and they are basically correct.
To be a true democracy, the people should have the power to elect who they want as their officials. The problem is though, we are not a true democracy; we are a compromised, partial democracy. This is why the voting system should adhere to the desires of our citizens.
There are numerous negative points to having the Electoral College. The Electoral College weighs the votes from smaller states more than larger ones because each state's electoral votes are equivalent to the number of House and Senate seats it has, thus giving one of those smaller state’s votes the power to really make a difference. Secondly, the Electoral College only acknowledges majority votes of the states and ignore the minority votes. Those who do not agree with everyone else are not represented at all.
If the Electoral College was abolished, then presidential candidates would campaign for the most individual votes, thus providing citizens with elections where each and every vote does matter. This would then lead to increased voter turnout and better representation of