Government and Politics - We Need Election Reform in America

However, between the 1950’s and 1970’s, campaigning was slightly different. Presidential candidates did not have a Twitter account to occupy the news channel it attacked the opposing candidate with subtlety, and in some instances addressed real issues. In other words, the presidential race in the decades of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s was to some extent cleaner than it is now. As a result, after reviewing different campaign commercials from 1950's one can conclude politics, especially campaigning, by the 1950’s Television ads became its most utilized political weapon.

Being able to cast my first vote in the 21st century is a privilege. My generation needs to accept their patriotic responsibility and vote because many reforms are needed in order to carry us into the new millennium. Voting reforms are necessary to inspire political participation for other modifications and adjustments needed in areas such as health care, education, and Social Security, all which we as young people will face in the future. Participation in elections is necessary to facilitate and enable progress, but our present day system of voting is expiring by frustrated Americans.

Most Americans would be surprised to find out that when they go vote for the President of the United States that they are not voting directly for the President, they are instead voting for the people that in turn vote for President. A recent survey conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute found that only 65.88% of people knew anything about the way the commander and chief is elected. Even more staggering though is that only 57.31% of elected officials within the United States government knew the way the President is elected (Additional). America elects its President is through a complex process of state electors that vote on behalf of their constituents. This process is called the Electoral College, and it is written directly into the United States Constitution. The Electoral College is a system unique to America, so most reform options won’t be accepted by the American people or won't represent the the opinions of the majority of Americans if this system is changed.

The Electoral College is not the best solution to elect the president, as it has become obsolete (Dayen). The Electoral College was a solution for the problems that were relevant when it was first established. Now, these problems cease to exist. The Electoral College was an idea that was feasible when first instituted, because communication was limited and national political parties had yet to be established. Travel and communications are no longer problems. The Electoral College needs to be replaced to fix the current problems, not the problems of the past.

Over the years Campaigning in the U.S. has changed drastically because of technological advances, the internet, social media, and the real-time information sharing across the globe. One study suggest that over the years, examining 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012, political advertising has become more negative. The Wesleyan Media Project’s charts states and 2004 election 45 percent of the ads were negative, where in 2012 about 65 percent of the ads were negative.1 There are many speculations on why these negative ads are increasing with every election, but one fact is that campaigns can use negativity to bring attention to a certain topic and sometimes benefit from the free media coverage if the controversy is popular enough.

As citizens of the United State of America, one of our most important rights is that of which to vote. By voting, the general population has a say in who its leaders are. Votes for local, state, and even federal representatives directly reflect who the constituents want in office. However, America’s highest office is not elected by a vote of the people. Instead we use a confusing and outdated system called the Electoral College. Our president is not elected by the people, but by 538 electors who can legally vote for whomever they choose. Several times in our nations history an elector has voted against the people’s will. Three presidents have been elected into office by the electoral college and

In this day and age, political advertisements are stretched to the limits of toleration. Many of them focus more on the shortcomings of their opponents rather than the ideas and plans they have for the country. Often, the ads are nothing more than superficial smears aiming to tarnish the image of the target nominee. If the ads where kept cleaner and were more focused on important

Citizens might vote for the president however they don’t truly get to choose who wins. The system thinks that people cannot choose the president so they need a group of elite specialist to choose one for them. This clearly proves that we don’t even have to opportunity to be in the process in choosing our own president. Before hearing about this during the discussions in class, I did not know about how the Electoral College worked and it was very disappointing to see how it actually worked. It’s not true democracy without letting your citizens know how the system actually works and it’s astonishing to see the reality of it. For example, Plato’s tale on “The Allegory of the Cave”, the shadow of the cave symbolizes how people can have a sense of what is happening but they can’t truly see what is happening behind the doors. We think that we are looking at reality and when we finally see what is happening, it will

That is one reason why the public has come to reject the idea of the Super PACs. It has the turned the political campaign into a shallow, reality television, mud-slinging type of contest from which the candidates can never return. The ads being run in the newspapers, television, and radio stations cost these candidates and Super PACs money that could have been used for better political means such as contributions to charitable organizations by the candidates or their support groups on their behalf. That sort of act would have had a greater political impact upon the voting public than an ad campaign explaining the ills of Newt Gingrich. Even more sickening, is the fact that most of the candidates will feign knowledge of participation in any negative campaign movements because of the independent nature of the Super PACs. The candidate can deny any involvement in the act all the while coordinating with his Super PAC under the radar of mass media. These negative campaigns leave the candidate free and clear of any involvement as all the Super PAC has to do is run the ad with a clear disclaimer absolving the candidate the ad supports of any wrong doing because the ad was not sanctioned by the candidate or political party.

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives” ~ James Madison

“The Constitution’s framers chose a unique and complex method of selecting the president, one that clearly violates fundamental tenets of political equality and majority rule” (Edwards, 78). There were concerns that information could not travel across state lines. There was a concern that States would put forward their candidates above a national candidate and put regional interests ahead of national ones. There was also a concern that smaller states would be overshadowed and overwhelmed by states with larger populations. Although the country only had a population of 4 million when the framers first decided to outline the electoral system it would be a daunting task to implement a system of popular vote. “Aside from modest statutory changes, the Electoral College has not been structurally changed by Constitutional amendment since 1804” (Miller, 61). The times have changed and now democracy is possible. It makes no sense to have a country which is constantly growing and evolving be stuck so thoroughly in the past. There is a national education system that creates informed voters. With all the various forms of media information can be easily disseminated quickly across the entire nation. The nation can and will come together if given an opportunity.

There are a vast number of critics of the American electoral system that bring up the argument that our voters do not have the knowledge or the interest to run a democracy successfully. These critics claim that these voters lack in judgement and skill which are two main key aspects needed to successfully run a form of government.

It is very common among the United States’ political sphere to rely heavily on T.V. commercials during election season; this is after all the most effective way to spread a message to millions of voters in order to gain their support. The presidential election of 2008 was not the exception; candidates and interest groups spent 2.6 billion dollars on advertising that year from which 2 billion were used exclusively for broadcast television (Seelye 2008.) Although the effectiveness of these advertisements is relatively small compared to the money spent on them (Liasson 2012), it is important for American voters to think critically about the information and arguments presented by these ads. An analysis of the rhetoric in four of the political

Media is known as the “king maker” for many reasons, such as shaping candidates in audience’s perspective. Television has been a big influence in shaping voters choice and labeling political parties, even though some believe media information can be scant in regards to candidates. Media can be anything from television to social media networks and how many people think that media is a great influence, some also think it can be a problem. “It only takes 140 characters to damage a political campaign” in which Smith is referring to social media as being a problem. (Smith, K. 2011. Pg. 9) At the state and local levels party affiliation remains the most important. “In television age, journalist became the chief influence in the selection of candidates

“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” A quote by James Madison, the author of the bills of rights, in a letter he wrote to W.T. Barry. Even James Madison was talking about ignorance in his day. However, that is not altogether surprising considering people were less informed and less educated in his era. Today citizens have arrived at a dangerous place of ignorance, and that political ignorance seems to be growing and flourishing. I will admit, I myself, have been found guilty of this very