A New Voting System: The Electoral College

In my opinion the Electoral College is very misunderstood. The Electoral College is a group of officials who elect the president every four years. It is the indirect method of elections. Many people think that they would be voting directly for a presidential candidate when voting, but it is not that simple.

The political system many of us know today as the Electoral College is one that has been in place in our country for over 100 years. The Electoral College is a system that helps determine who is elected as President and Vice President during major elections. The Electoral College is the primary source of determining who is elected. This system although having withheld through the times and stayed in place is not effective to me, and can lead to unfair elections in the eyes of some American People.

Two hundred years ago, the Framers of the Constitution outlined the Electoral College when they disagreed on who should elect the president, and disagreed on the role of the people, the congress, and the states in the political process. Some favored the direct vote while others lacked confidence in the people to vote. The compromise became what is now the Electoral College. In the two hundred year history of the Electoral

The electoral College was developed at the first constitutional convention in 1787 by James Wilson. The idea of the electoral college was influenced by how Rome would elect the Pope around the same time. During the Constitutional Convention they bounced around several ideas on which way would be most effective to elect a president. The number of electors was dependent upon the number of people in that states senate, (will always be 2) and the number of the people that state had in the House, (which fluctuates every decade depending on that states census.) Choosing the electors was left up to the state, but to avoid the college choosing a “favorite” they had to cast two votes, one of which had to be for someone out of their home state. The electoral college was originally designed for use without political parties and without national campaigns,both of which we have today. While the electoral college was a good system for the original thirteen states it was developed for, there needs to be a better or more direct way to elect a president of the united states.

With the Electoral College system for electing the United States president winning the most popular votes is not a guarantee a candidate will become president. They must also get 270 Electoral College votes to win. A candidate can become president if he gets at least 270 Electoral College votes and does not have the most popular votes. Many people do not like the Electoral college system for this reason. They feel the person with the most popular votes should win.

The United States, well known for its democracy, holds elections every four years to elect its President. Every American citizen over the age of 18 has a right to cast a vote in the presidential election. The voting process, although it seems easy and straightforward, can be very complicated. In the 2000 election, Al Gore captured the majority of votes, but George Bush won. The reason for this strange outcome and why Al Gore lost was because of the Electoral College. The Electoral College is voting system where different states are given a certain amount of votes in the election, and which ever candidate wins a state, is given that state’s votes. The Electoral College is out of date, and should be replaced by the Popular Vote system,

In 1787, the forebears conjured up the Constitution because they did not want to allow citizens to vote for their president undeviatingly . Afraid that society was not well equipped with information to select a president and that formidable common people would choose candidates from their own state, the forebearers considered that the president should be chosen through a selected group of electors, which they thought should be avowed as they contented. In this, political parties because very tenacious than they were before. These political group selected candidates and electors for the presidential and vice presidential positions. Electors were sworn to vote for their respected candidate. What is this Electoral College? The Electoral College

The 2016 presidential election left many voters feeling bitter and hostile. President-elect Donald Trump is a minority president, meaning that he won the electoral vote yet lost the popular vote (“2016 Election Results”). There have only been four minority presidents preceding Trump: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and George W. Bush (Stepman). However, recently some voters and politicians began calling for eliminating the electoral college in favor of a popular vote. At first glance, this seems necessary; however, once one considers all factors, the system’s advantages unquestionably outweigh the disadvantages. In order to keep our nation running efficiently, the United States must keep the electoral process instituted by our Founding Fathers. The preeminent argument for its continuation is the efficiency it has provided for 200 years. The balance and stability it provides also justify its continuation.

The Electoral College was established with the best of intentions of representing the American people; however, over time, this antiquated system has failed the American people. The people of the United States deserve better as the Electoral College is no longer a representation of the nation’s voices and concerns. Instead, the political machine has corrupted this deep-rooted system with each modification. The way the people of the United States elect the President and Vice President, requires an update for this timeworn democratic process.

The United States Electoral College is ultimately the way the President is elected. The electors are first picked from their state party, and then on election day they are voted on, based on their party. Then those electors take the popular vote from their state to either pursued their vote, or not. The electors are under no obligation to vote in the way that their state did. This is one reason why sometime the popular vote and the electoral votes don’t agree.

One of the most noteworthy complications about the Electoral College is the fact that the United States neglects its territories? Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S Virgin Islands and Norther Mariana Islands receive no votes because they are not official states. A quick solution to this issue would be to amendment the constitution and recognize these legitimate territories as part of the United States. About 4.4 million Individuals live in these territories and they are undoubtedly American citizens. This amount may not seem significant, but in perspective that is more than Wyoming, Vermont, Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska and Delaware combined yet they have no say in the presidential elections. Additionally, there are about 6.3 million Americans who live

The debate on the efficacy and fairness of the Electoral College is one that has lasted since the birth of the United States. At its core, it is a compromise between states small and large to spread presidential voting power more evenly between them. It is a point of major contention since it removes some power from states with higher population and gives it to the those with lower populations. This contention has only been exacerbated by recent presidential races that have been won via Electoral College votes, but lost based on the popular vote. While the Electoral College does not represent the people directly, it is the superior system for electing a president that cares about the entire country rather than just large cities.

The Electoral College was instituted by our founding fathers as an agreement for the Presidential voting procedure. Once the compromise was agreed upon the system was written into Article II, Section 1 under the 23rd Amendment of the United States Constitution on September 8, 1787. (Constitution.laws.com, 2018) Generally, it was formed for the buffer among the populations of the Presidential election and as a portion of the governmental structure that allocates additional power to the much smaller states, which assists with the voting processes by offering them support.

The electoral college system is a system that constantly misunderstood. Especially after this most recent election. So understanding and explaining the history of the system itself and why the system was created in the first place. The founding fathers established the electoral college in 1787 after National leaders drafted the U.S. Constitution.(Bonsor & Dove,2000). Instead of setting up a presidential election system through direct democracy, the nation's founders established the Electoral College in part to ensure the entire nation has a more equal say in the choosing of a national president. The purpose of the electoral college is to be a compromise between election of the president by the vote of Congress

The Electoral College is a system that was created by our Founders, men such as George Washington and James Madison. The system happens in two parts, the people vote, then the states get their turn.