What Are The Pros And Cons Of Electoral College
Electoral Process: Does Majority Actually Rule? Imagine an election won by the loser; an election where the person that received less votes than their opponent won. Barbara Boxer said:
Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. We have had men and women through the decades die for the right to vote. Many generations of Americans of every gender, race, religion, and ideology have marched and struggled and died to secure this fundamental freedom. Yet we have a system where the winner can lose (qtd. in “Pros and Cons of the Electoral College System” 25).
This specific scenario has occurred multiple times in the most significant election in the United States. In fact, in the history of presidential elections, the loser of the popular vote has won …show more content…
Presidential candidates can count on winning states that have been known to support their party, but few states swing back and forth between parties (ProCon.org). These are the states that have the power to alter the outcome of the election. As a result, they are the most important and are treated as such. “According to nationalpopularvote.com, 94 percent of campaigning by the presidential candidates in 2016 took place in 12 states” (qtd. in “Pros and Cons of Electoral College System” 21). This goes against the original purpose of the electoral college to make all states equally important. Furthermore, in a country founded on the principles of equality, this aspect of the electoral process is undemocratic. By providing a select few states with the power to decide the election, the current process of selecting a president misses its original …show more content…
This however, would require a constitutional amendment, an achievement that would be nearly impossible. As a result, multiple states have passed the National Popular Vote Legislation. This law devotes all of a state’s electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, ensuring that the candidate with the most support wins the election. If enough states to have a majority of electoral votes pass this legislation, the flaws of the electoral college will be bypassed and the popular vote will be indirectly put into place (Wheeler 177). To summarize, the electoral college is outdated, gives too much power to swing states, discourages voters, and is overall undemocratic. Therefore, a drastic change in the way that the president is elected is necessary to make sure that the entire country is accurately represented and the candidate with the most support is put into
Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. We have had men and women through the decades die for the right to vote. Many generations of Americans of every gender, race, religion, and ideology have marched and struggled and died to secure this fundamental freedom. Yet we have a system where the winner can lose (qtd. in “Pros and Cons of the Electoral College System” 25).
This specific scenario has occurred multiple times in the most significant election in the United States. In fact, in the history of presidential elections, the loser of the popular vote has won …show more content…
Presidential candidates can count on winning states that have been known to support their party, but few states swing back and forth between parties (ProCon.org). These are the states that have the power to alter the outcome of the election. As a result, they are the most important and are treated as such. “According to nationalpopularvote.com, 94 percent of campaigning by the presidential candidates in 2016 took place in 12 states” (qtd. in “Pros and Cons of Electoral College System” 21). This goes against the original purpose of the electoral college to make all states equally important. Furthermore, in a country founded on the principles of equality, this aspect of the electoral process is undemocratic. By providing a select few states with the power to decide the election, the current process of selecting a president misses its original …show more content…
This however, would require a constitutional amendment, an achievement that would be nearly impossible. As a result, multiple states have passed the National Popular Vote Legislation. This law devotes all of a state’s electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, ensuring that the candidate with the most support wins the election. If enough states to have a majority of electoral votes pass this legislation, the flaws of the electoral college will be bypassed and the popular vote will be indirectly put into place (Wheeler 177). To summarize, the electoral college is outdated, gives too much power to swing states, discourages voters, and is overall undemocratic. Therefore, a drastic change in the way that the president is elected is necessary to make sure that the entire country is accurately represented and the candidate with the most support is put into