Electoral College: Good or Bad?
Chekwube00
OrabasiliTheelectoralcollege.pptxTHE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
By
Chekwube Orabasili
Chamberlain University
POLI330N-11464
Salam Awad
09/27/2020
Abstract
Since the beginning of the cold war in 1947, the United States have been fighting for democracy all over the world.
How president was elected
The founding fathers considered the following options for electing the president when they wrote the constitution;
The popular vote ( direct election)
Selection by the congress
Selection by the state legislature
A compromise of the options
The electoral college
The united states believes in a representative form of government to create stability in each state.
This is a mechanism used in the presidential election.
It is made up of group of individuals known as the electors, who are chosen based on the rules governing each State.
They vote for the president, each state has number of electoral votes which is equivalent to the number of the representatives in the congress.
One must obtain the majority of votes in the electoral college to be the president of the united states (Whitman Cobb, 2019).
The electoral college was established as a compromise of the presidential elections between the congress and the popular vote. It is a group of people referred to as the electors found in each state who are selected by the state legislature. They elect the president and the vice president of the united states (Whitman Cobb, 2019).
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Why was it established?
Fear of the direct democracy;
the founders, Hamilton and others had no trust in the general population to make right decision and choice.
‘ elections should be made by men most capable of analysing the qualities adapted to the stations.’ James Madison.
The interest to protect the interest of the smaller states and the rural areas.
The effect of the votes from the densely populated centres needed to be diluted (Whitman Cobb, 2019.
Does My Vote Count?
Majority of the voters believe that when they vote in the general elections in November, they are casting their votes for the united states president (Edwards, 2019).
When one cast his/her vote, he/she is actually voting for the group of electors who will then vote for a specific candidate in December, and since the party affiliated electors are selected to vote for popular vote that is decided by the state, your vote will count to increase the popular vote for the party you supported (Chamberlain University, 2020).
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Is the electoral college process legitimate?
Denying citizens the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice:
The polls carried for about 6 months, consistently placed Hillary Clinton much ahead of Donald Trump.
Those who rallied support behind Clinton continued to increase.
The final outcome created a great disparity in the true representation (Vavreck, 2017).
Top electoral college disadvantages experienced in the 2016 general elections includes:
The supporters for Trump, would feel that their votes were not going to count since majority of the people were going to vote against him.
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Top electoral college disadvantages experienced in the 2016 general elections (continued)
2. They operate as a political Party Interest group:
The electors represented only the specific goals and interest of the political parties that selected them.
They were not responsible to the public.
Provided that one gets a majority of the electoral college votes, they directly become the president (Vavreck, 2017).
George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump shared something in common during their elections, none of them got a true majority vote. Trump was beaten by his opponent in the popular vote but because he worn the electoral votes, he was elected as the president.
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Top electoral college disadvantages experienced in the 2016 general elections (continued)
3. The Electoral College did not represent the will of the people:
For one to be announced as the president of the united states, he/she must get majority of votes in the electoral college.
A great number of faithless electors was recorded in the 2016 elections (Texas – 2, Washington – 4 and Hawaii – 1).
The electors voted against the choice of their voters.
In 2013, a poll carried by Gallup indicated a strong support for abolishing the electoral college system.
| Doing away with Electoral College | Against doing away with the Electoral College. | No opinion | |
| % | % | % | |
| National adults | 63 | 29 | 8 |
| Republicans | 61 | 30 | 9 |
| Independents | 63 | 29 | 8 |
| Democrats | 66 | 30 | 4 |
| 18 to 29 years | 69 | 28 | 4 |
| 30 to 49 year | 62 | 27 | 11 |
| 59 to 64 years | 64 | 28 | 8 |
| 65 and above years | 60 | 32 | 8 |
Is the electoral college good or bad?
Conclusion
Since the electoral system plays a major role in the country’s democracy, there is need of evaluating the pros and cons of the electoral college system as the United States moves to this years election.
When each and every key point on the system’s merits and demerits are evaluated, an inclusive decision can be reached if the system can stay or go.
Reference
Chamberlain University. (2020). Week 4 lesson: Democracy and representation. Retrieved from https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/68321/pages/week-4-lesson-democracy-and-representation?module_item_id=9294071
Edwards, G. C. (2019). Why the Electoral College is bad for America. Yale University Press.
Sides, J., Tesler, M. & Vavreck, L. (2017). The 2016 US election: How Trump lost and won. Journal of Democracy, 28(2), 34-44.
Whitman Cobb, W. N. (2019). Political Science Today. Washington, DC: Sage Publications, Inc. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781544358314/
