Reflection

Running head: PERSUASIVE ESSAY 1

PERSUASIVE ESSAY 8

Persuasive Essay

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The Electoral College System in America

Introduction

America is the self-proclaimed global police championing equity and democracy, yet the country does not do what it preaches. American democracy is enshrined in the constitution that was created by the country's founding fathers. A significant element of the US constitution is its stance on the electoral college system of voting used to determine the US president. The electoral college was relevant back in the 1780s through to the first quarter of the 20th century. The nation was still in its early years of freedom and self-governance; thus, a standard framework was necessary to facilitate the transition from one administration to another (Gibbs 2017). Several flaws emerged over the years, raising concerns about the appropriateness of the college system of voting; the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804 separated votes for the president and the vice president. The college system of voting presents many challenges that American society should not be facing in the 21st century.

Thesis Statement

The college system of voting should be abolished to pave the way for a dynamic system that reflects the democratic values of modern society. Democracy is defined as a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” America’s government structure is based on the constitutional democracy, which is “is a government of laws and not of men.” As such, voting is a civil right for all American citizens. People present their opinions and preferences for particular administrations through elections. Electing the president is the highest privilege that citizens in any country desire. However, American people are continuously denied the opportunity to choose their president directly (Chafetz, 2020). Based on this realization, we argue that the Electoral College System should be abolished in the US because the reasons why it was established are no longer relevant. Research indicates that the current voting system allows just a few states to decide election results and ignores the will of the American people.

America's political landscape has changed significantly over the years. Many of the issues that affected political representation in various parts of the country are now history. However, the electoral structure created to resolve the political problems of the past is still used today. According to Edwards III (2019), the “reasons why the electoral college system of voting was adopted are no longer relevant in the 21st century”. The first reason was that many citizens at the time were uneducated; thus, incapable of making wise decisions about leadership. Delegates were concerned that a majoritarian system of presidential elections would create an opportunity for inadequate and inexperienced persons to take office. More so, slaves made up a large percentage of the population, and they could not vote. Thus, a select body of well-educated men was constituted and mandated to choose the best man for the presidency among leading contenders.

The argument that American citizens are uneducated and incapable of deciding wisely in presidential elections would have been valid in the 18th, 19th, and part of the 20th century but not in the 21st century. The abolition of slavery and the enactment of the civil rights Act meant that people must be accorded equal opportunities in society. Today, more than 90% of the American people have attained a high school education, and over 60% have achieved college-level education. Research indicates that American people are among the best-educated globally, primarily due to the country's developed education system. How then can we assume that such an educated populace will decide unwisely in presidential elections? More so, the constitution does not require citizens to attain a certain level of education to exercise their civil rights of voting in elections (Mascioli et al., 2020). The fact that citizens vote for other leaders in the country yet denied an opportunity to decide their president is absurd. Such reasons are no longer valid in contemporary society hence the need to introduce changes in the voting system.

The current voting system used to determine the US presidential election is ineffective. According to Cox (2018), the voting system “grants more power to some states and allows few states to decide the results of presidential elections.” The aspect of malapportionment that is the basis upon which the college system was developed does not promote democratic equity. Per the college system, states are entitled to a number of electors equal to their number of senators and representatives. The number of electors per state depends not on the number of registered voters but rather on the total population. Therefore, individual states lack the incentive to facilitate widespread voting among eligible persons within their borders. The democratic principle of one person one vote ceases to exist when the electoral college system is used because voting rights are not shared equally. For instance, if one state has 100,000 people, and another has 500,000 people, the former state automatically has five times the influence per person as in the later state. Such kind of electoral structures limits the power of some state while empowering others.

Another way the college system affects individual states' power to influence presidential elections concerns attention directed towards particular groups in society. The largest and most populous states like California, Texas, New York, Minnesota, and Alaska witness widespread campaigns during presidential elections. Other states like Florida are classified as swing states, and they only receive small-scale campaigning. The college system of voting enables presidential candidates to influence voters' political inclination in the "swing states" by politicizing issues vital to those groups (Mascioli et al., 2020). For instance, Cuban-Americans in Florida, are likely to vote based on what a presidential aspirant promises to do about US-Cuba relations. The existence of such unethical campaigns is dependent on the electoral college system of voting. Therefore, abolishing the college system would promote parity among all groups of voters in various states.

Another reason why the college system should be abandoned is that it denies the will of the people and fails to recognize the democratic principle of “the majority have their say” (Edwards III 2019). Democracy thrives by allowing people to present their opinion and grievances openly. American people exercise their freedom of speech during political campaigns as they champion the ideals of their most preferred presidential candidates. The decision of the majority is respected and upheld in other elections except for the presidential elections. Citizens have questioned this kind of electoral structure for many years indicated little faith and trust in the electoral college system. In some cases, a popular vote loser turns out to be the electoral college's presidential winner. For instance, George W. Bush and Donald J Trump were declared the electorate college winners despite having lost the popular vote. Three other popular vote losers have also been declared winners of the presidential election over the years. How then does such kind of a voting system present the opinion and preferences of the American people?

The American constitution allows electors representing different states to vote for their preferred candidates independently. Over the years, a hundred and fifty-seven electors have openly voted for a presidential candidate that is least popular in their states. For instance, seven electors defected from their states preferred candidates in the 2016 presidential election. The loser of the popular vote in the election was later voted as president by the electoral college. Such statistics indicate the shortcomings of the electoral college system in the sense that it creates conflicting interests. Individual electors have their preferred candidates who may not necessarily be the most popular in their states. Electors face a dilemma between voting for their preferred candidate or their state's preferred candidate. The preferences and opinions of the majority should no longer be overlooked and ignored (Chafetz 2020).

Supporters of the electoral college system call for preservation to maintain the status quo in the political landscape. The main argument presented to reject the abolition of the electoral college is that federalism is hinged on its existence. The individuals supporting the preservation of the elective college claim that its removal requires a complicated constitutional amendment that would consequently lead to the end of federalism. Although the college system of voting preserves federalism, it should not be a reason why the system’s flaws are overlooked. American citizens in the 21st century should be allowed to choose their most preferred president in an election. Most importantly, legislators should focus on disentangling federalism from the flawed electoral system to pave the way for creating a new voting system. Those calling for the preservation of the electoral system are mostly the people who benefit from its bureaucracy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the electoral system of voting used in America is outdated and should be abolished. The reasons that influenced the system's creations are no longer relevant in modern-day society. More so, the majority's opinion should be respected without granting more powers to some states while limiting the influence of other states in a presidential election. The debate surrounding the abolition of the college system has been a national issue for a long time. Complexities in constitutional amendments are the main reason preventing the system's abolition. Constitutional rigidity is detrimental to social-economic and political development. Therefore, society should not hesitate to remove or amend certain elements of the constitution that have outlived their purpose. The world has indeed changed, and people have become more aware of their political needs. Thus, American society should discern the need to make right what the country’s founding fathers got wrong (Gibbs 2017). Indeed, the time is right for America to abolish the electoral college system in favor of a dynamic system that will benefit future generations.

References

Chafetz, J. (2020). LET THE PEOPLE PICK THE PRESIDENT The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/books/review/let-the-people-pick-the-president-jesse-wegman.html

Cox, A. M. (2018). The Electoral College: A Constitutional Needle in a Political Hay Stack. Int'l J. Soc. Sci. Stud., 6, 94. Retrieved from  https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/ijsoctu6&div=22&id=&page

Edwards III, G. C. (2019). The Faulty Premises of the Electoral College. Retrieved from  https://in.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/91544_Chapter_8_Pages_from_Nelson_The_Presidency_and_the_Political_System_11e_2.pdf

Gibbs, S. (2017). The Electoral College, Democracy, and the Constitution: An Argument for the Founder's Intent. Grove City CJL Pub Pol'y, 8, 93. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/gcjlpp8&div=9&id=&page=

Mascioli, G., Kane, C., Nagel, M., McGarry, M., Medina, E., Brejt, J., & D'Angelo, S. (2020). Presidents Must Be Elected Popularly: Examining Proposals and Identifying the Natural Endpoint of Electoral College Reform. 1-25. Retrieved from https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2096&context=faculty_scholarship