The electoral college in the Constitution has the purpose of electing the President with the cooperation of both Congress and the people. The process consists of citizens first selecting electors based on the quantity of delegates in each state, which then become known as the electoral college, and then compromise to elect the President as well as the Vice President. Although there have been controversies on candidates not winning the election when they have received the popular vote, the electoral college provides equality among the small states as well as checks and sets boundaries towards the preferences of the majority. Not only is balance emplaced, but delegates are also elected with the incorporation of knowledge in the government rather than interest. …show more content…
However, the electoral college has the purpose of authorizing the small states to have a large vote and have their own say whenever it comes to electing. Without the electoral college, small states as well as rural areas would not be taken into account during the process. The electoral college is also beneficial because our country is a constitutional republic or a country where electors represent as well as govern the people in relation to constitutional law. According to James R. Rogers in the article, “The Electoral College: We Can’t Live With It; We Can’t Live Without It,” he states, “while it would smooth over the one-person, one-vote problem, it would only amplify the majority-rule problem.” Rogers affirms that the removal of the electoral college would only complicate even more the disputes over the popular vote, but with that also overlook the smaller states and their
The continuation of the Electoral College is constantly debated. Some want to discontinue the system while others want keep it. There are several arguments used by those who want to continue the system. One argument by Electoral College Advocates is the Electoral College balances the power of the large and small states in elections. These advocates state that doing away with the Electoral College would give the states with larger populations too much power in the outcome of elections. The advocates feel that presidential candidates will spend their resources on the states with the largest amount of voters. These advocates also believe that the Electoral College protects minorities’ interests. Some believe that without the Electoral College candidates would spend their time and resources on the majority of nation because that is where most of the votes will come from. Some advocates also argue that the Electoral College helps maintain the federal character of the United States. They argue that the system gives both the people and the states an important role in the electing of a president.
Those who are for the Electoral College have their own interesting host of points to make on the subject. They make mention of it contributing to the cohesiveness of the country, that it enhances the status of minorities, that it encourages political stability, and that it maintains a federal system of government and representation (Leip) . Regarding the Electoral College affecting the cohesiveness of the country, the concern is that without the Electoral College states with lower populations are devalued and that having the college ensures that they have some value and stake in its votes towards the election. This makes some sense, but it is just worth noting that the votes of the college are determined in some degree by population anyway.
The number of electoral votes decided for each state are based on the number of electors each state is entitled to represent a state in the Senate and House of Representatives known as Congress. The state of North Carolina has fifteen electoral votes and those electoral votes were won by presidential candidate Mitt Romney (winning 50.39%) in the 2012 election. It is understood that the Electoral College has some positive attributes to include maintaining divisions of power between the three branches of government, it promotes a two-party system and allows minority and interest groups to be represented. Unfortunately on the negative side this voting system does not reflect the popular vote of the people, it discourages third parties and then
One of the arguments in this article is that the Electoral College is outdated and should be removed. Then, it states that the Electoral College symbolizes "America's original sin," slavery. When slavery was common in the U.S, a direct popular vote would have the south at a disadvantage because at the time the Constitution gave no voting rights to the black population. Therefore, the North would have an advantage because of their large white population which did have the right to vote. The three-fifths compromise counted the slave population for voting purposes only, each slave being three-fifths of a white person, which gave the south more electoral votes. Another argument is that the Electoral College gives smaller states an advantage. Apparently,
The Electoral College was created in the year 1787. Before it was established, the men who drafted the Constitution also known as the Framers debated several formats for electing the president and vice president for the United States. One of the formats they were debating was to have the Congress choose the president however some felt that there may be corruption, inappropriate political issues and possible interference from foreign powers (Kimberling, W.C. 2008). The other format the Framers were debating were to have the State legislatures select president but it was also rejected because of fear that the president that is obligated to the State legislature have a possibility to wear down federal authority and underestimate the idea of the federation (Kimberling, W.C.
The forebearers came up with this in our constitution as a bargain between the Congress's vote and the qualified citizens vote. The Electoral College is a formal body which elects the president and vice president of the United States. What makes up the formal body? The formal body refers to the electors, in which each state has a certain number of electors, In the Electoral College, each state has as many electors as they have senators and representatives. The District of Columbia has three electors by itself. When voting, voters actually vote for the slate of electors. These electors vow to cast their ballots for the spot in the electoral college. In order to have a decent leader, Americans vote for a person that will do everything possible to promote their country position in the world’s politics in the first place.
Last November, Donald Trump became the forty-fifth President of the United States even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.7 Million votes. Donald Trump won because of the Electoral College. The Electoral College gives each state a number of electors that can range from three to fifty-five depending on the size of the state. The number of electors is decided by combining the number of senators and representatives that state has. To win the presidential election, a candidate would have to get 270 electoral votes, if neither candidate gets 270 electoral votes then the senate and the House of Representatives get to choose the president or vice president. This system completely ignores the popular vote and the will of the people.
Research suggests that the Electoral College system should be amended because it poorly illustrates democracy, is outdated and
The Electoral College should be abolished for many reasons. The amount of representatives that each state receives is one problem with the Electoral College. In terms of population, smaller states have a definite disadvantage. The video “Does Your Vote Count? The Electoral College
The Electoral College is something that affects every citizen in this country. The Presidential election is also something that many people feel passionate about, regardless of where you are. In the Presidential Election, Minnesota has voted for the democratic candidate almost every time in the last 100 years. However, Waconia has not been the best representation of the state's views, since it is one of the most conservative cities in the nation, making it a very unique place to live, politically. Because I have lived in Waconia and Minnesota my whole life, I have seen both sides of the Electoral College and how it affects my surroundings. The Electoral College is valuable for this state in the sense that it gives Minnesota some importance come election, even if we do vote democratic nine times out of ten. For the city of Waconia, the Electoral College might make citizens here think it is not the best system since most republican voters might feel like their votes mean nothing in the end, because of the consistent trend of this state voting for the democratic candidate.
The Electoral College what can I say to be honest, I know nothing about the Electoral College, but I will do my best to explain it to people who might know and to help them know so when they 're seventeen they know like I should. So the Google definition of the Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who cast votes in the election of the President and Vice President. I would have not given that explanation, it would have told you it is a College. So helping you and myself, I will first explain how it works, then how Electors are selected, and the qualifications to be one and their restriction on who the Electors can vote for. Then the Election 1800 and the 12th Amendment. Then I will explain times where
The electoral college is an institution that every four years is in charge of electing our President, and Vice President. In school we are always taught that its the right and fair way to elect our president, but why? When the Founding Fathers created the process in 1787 along with the constitution certain founders such as James Madison thought the process would hurt the south and under a prior agreement set by southern slave states allowed states to count slaves as votes. This gave Southern States the majority of the electoral votes. In the first distribution of electoral votes Virginia(a heavy slave state) came out the big winner with over a quarter of the US votes where a state like Pennsylvania(a free state) had far less. The pro-Southern
The 2016 presidential election was an example of the discrepancy between the Electoral College votes and the national popular votes. If the last presidential election had been decided by a national popular vote, then Hillary Clinton would have won the presidency because she had the majority of votes. However, due to the design of the Electoral College, Donald Trump won the election for president in 2016; although, he lost the national popular vote. Just as some people questioned the effectiveness of the Electoral College during some of the previous elections, several people questioned the effectiveness of the Electoral College again in 2016. The debate about whether the Electoral College should be kept or
First off, what is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is the process put in place by our Founding Fathers in which America votes for its President and Vice President every four years. The Electoral College was put in place to help prevent abuse of power and corruption by having a separation of government. The Electoral College is made up of representatives from each state based on how many Senate and House of Representative delegates that state has. These numbers range from 3 to 54 with the total number of electors being 538. This system has taken much scrutiny over time. According to Lenz and Holman, “The Electoral College may be the least-known and most misunderstood government institution in the American political system.”
Upon asking people their thoughts on obeying the law, many people respond with “I just don’t, It’s illegal.” This moral obligation to obey the law weighs far heavier than most people think. Many people, who are privileged enough to not have to worry about breaking the law, don’t really think about how they feel about laws. However, those people who are in moral conflict with the law, whether they be oppressed, indigent, or just an average person, must decide whether or not to obey said law for their own good. In some situations, people are born into poor families where they must break laws to survive. In some situations, people feel that certain laws are unfair or unjust, and that it is their moral right to ignore these laws. However, In some situations, people break laws for selfish reasons and are genuinely bad people. However, breaking the law does not automatically make someone a bad person.