In recent years, voter fraud has been a controversial topic. Many states have passed or have tried to pass laws that enforce strict Voter ID laws if a person wants to cast a vote in their state. Donald Trump has been someone who has spoken widely on the topic of voter fraud. According to Zeke J. Miller, a writer for Time Magazine, Trump has “repeated his unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud”. I personally do not believe voter fraud is happening this much in our elections and really think some politicians are looking for someone to blame when the outcome is not what they would have liked.
In 2008, Donald Trump made allegations that stated millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2008 election. Politifact.com debunks the claim in an article written by Amy Sherman. In the article, along with Mr. Trumps allegation, Fox and Friends co-host Ainsley Earhadt also talked about illegal immigrants voting in the United States presidential election. She stated “5.7 million, that’s how many illegal immigrants may have voted.” (Sherman, 2017). When studied why Donald Trump would assume such bogus accusations, Washington Times shows that the stats and information came from a Conservative think tank. The publishing came from Old Dominion University that used their data along with the voter records in 2008 to come to the account that 6.4% or 1.2 million votes were noncitizens (Sherman, 2017). It is believed that Donald Trump got his number of illegal voters from the think tank.
Did you know over 54% of Americans voted yes to voting ages being changed down to 13? Would you be able to fathom walking into your local voting station, and seeing a mother signing her son into the polls for him to be able to vote. What would you think? I know what I would think, why is this borderline premature child voting? who let this child vote? Like come on this kid doesn’t even know who the candidates are? Do you think the voting age should be lowered? In this argumentative paper I will give you facts from both the opposition and my side of things, and YOU the reader, can make your decision at the end of this essay.
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.
As of late the Electoral College has been looked down upon for their decisions in the 2016 election and many have considered doing away with it. If this were to happen, the popular vote would be the direct vote. Nonetheless, by giving the popular vote the most authority, it would be like giving a monkey a loaded gun: they wouldn't know how to use it and it can lead to many more minor problems that can easily be avoided with the help of the Electoral College. Giving the Electoral College too little or too much power would lead to unwanted disagreements. The Electoral College is best the way it is in view of the fact that the winner-takes-all distribution of votes, changes the victors small percentage margin to seem much larger, so it makes the candidate’s win more certain and legit (usnews.com).
This past election has raised several questions and issues, one of them being on the effectiveness of the Electoral College. Though Clinton won the popular vote with a margin of 2,868,692 votes, Trump won the presidency because his electoral votes were greater. Many were confused as to how this could happen, but looking at a map of the U.S. county-wise, it is somewhat more believable. Most of Clinton’s votes were concentrated in major cities,unlike Trump’s which were more widespread. This allowed him to cast a wider net to collect more electoral votes. Despite this being the reasoning behind it, many question if this is the right path. In truth, the Electoral college system is very faulty in the sense that it misrepresents a large portion of American Citizens. Therefore, it requires several changes, i.e. converting to a proportional system rather than winner-take-all, to be made so it could better reflect the will of the people, without dismissing the entire establishment as a whole.
Only 53.6% of eligible voters vote, leaving 46.4% not voting (“Political Participation in the US”). This 46.4% of people do not believe their votes count. They believe that the Electoral College system cancels out their votes and that the government will not listen anyway. People think that nothing will change due to the incumbency rate in Congress. That is where the people do not see what is really happening. Americans do not vote enough, so they cannot possibly make a change in government when they are not exercising one of their most powerful rights. Citizens of other countries yearn for the right to vote and Americans who fought so hard for this right do not even use it. “US voting rates are among the lowest in the developed world” (“Political Participation in the US”). Young people should be concerned with this issue. Because America has a democratic form of government, political participation is necessary, everyone’s vote counts, and corrections in government can only be made by the people first.
Does a United States citizen think that electoral college is democracy's safety net? The people of the U.S. have their own opinions about Electoral College. Some disagree on the topics that Electoral College discusses, and some agree. Most U.S. citizens should support the electoral college because it prevents majority rule, the US needs the electoral college more than ever before, and the intentions of the founding fathers held the abhorrence in the US.
Today, there is a much greater amount of people and technology in the country than there was in the 1700’s. As America changed and grew throughout the years, the people have adapted to the new demands of life. For example, when the men went off to fight in World War I, it created a need for women to enter the workforce, and women have not left since. The same adaptation is needed in the presidential election because having an electoral college gives too much power to a lesser amount of people, with the increase in technology, we must adapt to new ways of voting, and the House of Representatives should not have the last word on who becomes president.
On August 18th, 1920, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote. After countless protests and speeches over many years by dedicated women suffragists, women finally gained the right to take part in the US government after an absence of nearly 150 years. The fact that women could not vote at the conception of the US government shows that many aspects of it are outdated, one of these being the electoral college. The electoral college is the system of voting used in the US in which each state receives a certain number of electors, based on population, with a total of 538, who ultimately decide which presidential candidate is victorious. Although it may protect the interests of small states, the electoral college has troubling origins, allows for the misrepresentation of voters, and treats voters unequally.
Many refer to the United States of America as a democracy: a republic that is of the people, by the people, and for the people; where ideals such as truth, justice, and equality reign. However, if one looks closer with a more cynical lens, they might find that this is nothing more than a half-truth. For America is not truly a democracy, as many say it is, but rather a strange mix of a constitutional republic with a dash of democratic ideals. Nowhere is it more evident that America doesn’t truly rely on democratic ideas than in the system of voting used to elect the “Leader of the Free World”: the Electoral College.
How would you feel if you voted for the democratic candidate and you found out that your vote went towards the republican candidate? Or if you voted for a republican candidate and learned your vote went towards the democratic candidate? Most people would likely be very upset, which is why they deserve to be informed about the reality of the electoral college. The electoral college may have been necessary to prevent fraud when our political and legal was first forming, but just as you can take of training wheels, we are at the point where we could abolish this system.
Why do political candidates, like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, sacrifice their morals and alter the moral fabric of society by using dirty tricks and maneuvers, twisting the truth, and telling outright lies?
Do you believe the electoral college is the ideal method to vote for the next president of the united states? I do not agree with this method of choosing the president and I think the popular vote should be the method of voting instead. In the Electoral College you vote for someone to vote the president for you which defeats the purpose of voting. Especially since that person legally doesn't have to vote for who you want. Also the electoral college makes voting more complicated which differs from the popular vote method which is easier by just counting votes and the winner would be who has the most votes. My last reason for abolishing the Electoral College and using the popular vote method is it would help other parties instead of just the Republican and Democratic parties. As third party candidates never won due to the electoral college being more helpful to the other parties.The electoral college is a complicated and not fair way of voting for the president. The process defeats the purpose of voting and most of the time helps only two parties which give the other parties a very low chance of winning.
I find it very interesting that the lady has never voted. I really thought that all older people voted. In the area that I live in, the elderly really look forward to voting. When it is time to vote, they are all lined up at the community center waiting. To me, is kind of strange that she volunteers at the hospital, gives back to her community, and does not vote. I do understand where she s coming from with feeling that her vote does not matter. I feel that way to, when it comes to voting for the Predidenet. I do however feel, that in local elections that my vote does count. I understand that she volunteers and that is a great idea, but in order to help change our community for the greater good, I feel that everyone should vote and voice
Why should citizens who illegally vote and reside in the United States have the ability to decide who becomes the next Treasurer, Secretary of State, or even Commander in Chief? There is a horrendously large population living in the United States that cannot provide identification proving they are legal. There is a simple reason behind this, this group of people have not gone through the necessary process required to obtain the right of being a United States citizen. On top of illegal citizens voting, both them and legal citizens can take advantage of seriously threatening vulnerabilities in the voting system. With no trouble at all, they do so by voting more than once. This may come as a surprise to some that this is even possible but it is quite easy to do so. With no way to be able to keep track of who votes, people can simply travel to another polling station and cast their same vote again. This unlawfulness can be repeated several times. If that is thought of as ridiculous, there have even been statements for numerous years claiming that by requiring people to provide a photo ID, it discourages them from voting. This is far from the truth and no excuse to keep the voting requirements as lenient as they are. For every illegal vote that is casted by a fraud voter there is a legal vote being nullified. This recklessly illegal behavior is extremely unfair to citizens voting legally everywhere. This behavior should not be possible or allowed even in the slightest bit. If
Humanity would not be improved if all were to strive towards utter perfection. When we try hard to be perfect, an unattainable goal, we are bound to fail. Therefore, this inevitable “failure” shall lead to frustration and anger at ourselves though we have done nothing wrong. Should society not be taunted by this impossible goal, society as a whole will be happier and live fulfilled lives. Whereas if everyone were to be reaching for perfection, everyone’s lives would be the exact opposite. The core of our society would be filled with more stress-more than what already exists at least- as well as less contemptment with our actions. These negative emotions would result in the implementation of bad means as a result of hopelessness. People will be lead to believe that after failing so many times, the only thing left to do in order to be perfect is to not play by the rules, because when they did, it didn’t work. According to mid-twentieth century sociologist Robert Merton, “The moral mandate to achieve success thus exerts pressures to succeed, by fair means if possible and by foul means if necessary”(Robert Merton in Allenby 17). This leads to not only corruption of the individual, but corruption in society as a whole. This is due to the intense level of competition in society that is due to everyone feeling as if they must be the best and outdo those that surround them. These high levels of competition and little room for success leads to stress, depression, and people resulting to loopholes to make their way up to the top. Not only that, but even at a young age, children are being pressured to be the best. Christopher Bergland, ultra-endurance athlete, writer, and psychologist, additionally addressed cheating in his Psychology Today column (2012) when he stated, “We live in such a competitive world. From a very young age our children are taught that if they want to ‘succeed’ in life that they have to finish in the top percentile in just about every challenge they face. But not everyone can be a champion.”(Begland 6). Therefore, not only are adults affected by the pressures of competition, but children are too. If the stress piles up at an early age, then so do the bad habits which will all carry on into their