The Electoral College: A Flawed System
The Electoral College: A Flawed System The electoral college was put in place by our founding fathers in the Constitution. The electoral college is a process that we undergo to elect our president. Every four years, American citizens vote for their preferred presidential candidate. Their votes, however, go to that state’s candidate electors, rather than straight towards the presidential election. Electors pledge to vote for the candidate and then vote for president based on the party they previously pledged to. Electors are chosen based on their loyalty to the party they belong to and American citizens indirectly vote for the elector who pledged their vote to a certain candidate. The electoral college was created for a purpose and is flawed
in some ways.
The electoral college was put in place by our founding fathers in 1787 to stop voter error and to make sure anyone who voted was informed about the candidates. Many American citizens of the time were not informed about candidates outside of their state, and may have voted based only because the candidate was from their state and they had sufficient information on only them and not the other candidate. The founding fathers gave a select few the privilege to vote for president because of this. Each state was given two votes for each Senator and one for each member in the House of Representatives. This equals a total of 538 electors total and 270 majority vote is necessary to elect a president. The electoral college is still in place today.
The electoral college is not perfect. For example, this country believes strongly that every vote should count equally, however, the electoral college puts out the notion that every vote counts but some count more than others. An individual’s vote may count for their own state, but depending on their states population size, it may mean more or less in regards to the whole country. Candidates who win the popular vote could also lose the election due to losing big elector states in the electoral college. For example, President George W. Bush was elected in 2000, due to receiving the most votes in the electoral college, Al Gore, however, held the popular vote. This left many Americans outraged that Al Gore had lost when more Americans had wanted him to become president. Electors chosen could also decide to change their vote, as there are no penalties for doing so, and vote for the opposing candidate.
The Electoral College was created by our founding fathers for the election of the United States president. It was put in place to prevent voter error and bias from occurring in the election of the president. Electors are chosen based on loyalty to their party and popular vote within their state. Some states have more pull than others in the election due to their low population size. Popular vote also does not mean anything to the country and only influences electors chosen by each state. Electors can also decide to change their votes without penalty. This electoral process has been in effect since 1787 and is not going anywhere any time soon. The Electoral College was created to fairly elect the president and has some significant flaws.
in some ways.
The electoral college was put in place by our founding fathers in 1787 to stop voter error and to make sure anyone who voted was informed about the candidates. Many American citizens of the time were not informed about candidates outside of their state, and may have voted based only because the candidate was from their state and they had sufficient information on only them and not the other candidate. The founding fathers gave a select few the privilege to vote for president because of this. Each state was given two votes for each Senator and one for each member in the House of Representatives. This equals a total of 538 electors total and 270 majority vote is necessary to elect a president. The electoral college is still in place today.
The electoral college is not perfect. For example, this country believes strongly that every vote should count equally, however, the electoral college puts out the notion that every vote counts but some count more than others. An individual’s vote may count for their own state, but depending on their states population size, it may mean more or less in regards to the whole country. Candidates who win the popular vote could also lose the election due to losing big elector states in the electoral college. For example, President George W. Bush was elected in 2000, due to receiving the most votes in the electoral college, Al Gore, however, held the popular vote. This left many Americans outraged that Al Gore had lost when more Americans had wanted him to become president. Electors chosen could also decide to change their vote, as there are no penalties for doing so, and vote for the opposing candidate.
The Electoral College was created by our founding fathers for the election of the United States president. It was put in place to prevent voter error and bias from occurring in the election of the president. Electors are chosen based on loyalty to their party and popular vote within their state. Some states have more pull than others in the election due to their low population size. Popular vote also does not mean anything to the country and only influences electors chosen by each state. Electors can also decide to change their votes without penalty. This electoral process has been in effect since 1787 and is not going anywhere any time soon. The Electoral College was created to fairly elect the president and has some significant flaws.