DEATH To The COLLEGE Ever heard the saying, “Every vote counts?” The real question we have to ask ourselves today is, does every vote really count? Can a presidential election be decided by just one vote? It has never been that close in the popular vote, but that isn't how the president is elected. The president can lose by over a million votes, as seen in the 2016 presidential race, and still win the electoral college. How can we, as Americans, condone an illegitimate president? The Electoral College has to go, and go now, before other faults than disregarding popular vote like swing states votes getting counted for more and discouraging third parties become known by more people. The Electoral College doesn’t count every vote the same and the popular vote isn’t considered. With the current system, the president, although not every time, can be the loser, and at the same time the winner. He may not get the vote of the many, but can squeeze by and get just enough votes to become president, like Donald …show more content…
The College hasn't ever given much a chance to third parties because most people knew their vote might not matter when voting for a third party candidate because they would have to win over two established parties. With this new system, a third party could have a real chance. They could even have the goal of just taking enough votes away from whomever they don't want to win and lose, but still win by having their part in the election process. They would have the shot to sway the election one way or the other. That’s similar to how the swing states in the electoral college are, but it also gives that third party the chance to win, therefore, moving on to a better way of electing our president. As ProCon has stated, “Just as several voting laws… have been modified or discarded throughout history, so should the Electoral College.”
However, there have been several elections where the president did not win the popular vote, but still became president because the candidate received over the bare minimum of two hundred seventy electoral votes. Just recently the election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took place in November of 2016. As stated in the article, Time to End the Electoral College, “Hillary Clinton beat Mr. Trump by more than 2.8 million votes, or 2.1 percent of the Electorate” (Doc L). Hillary Clinton won the popular vote of the people but she never became president because she did not receive more than the required two hundred seventy electoral votes. The system that we are using today goes against our democracy and does not reflect the people's ideas on what kind of leader they want to rule the United States of America. In fact, the Electoral College favors minority voters and the majority is at a disadvantage in winning elections. Since the popular vote can’t win someone an election, many candidates choose to spend a large deal of time in states that have high numbers of electoral votes and are undecided on which party to vote for. It is up to the candidates to sway voters in these states to win all of the electoral votes with this winner take all system. These states are known as battleground states and are almost always the deciding factor in an election's outcome. In the
The nominee who acquires the highest number of votes on a nationwide scale is declared the winner of the national popular vote. However, the victor of the national popular vote could still transpire being defeated within the election, in the same manner as Hilary Clinton in 2016 and Al Gore in 2000. By gaining Florida’s votes, Bush closely attained the electoral vote above Gore by way of 271 to 266—merely one more over than the required minimum of 270 “winner-take-all” electors. Then again Gore did win the popular vote over Bush by approximately 500,000 votes, the first flip over of the electoral and popular vote ever since 1888. This is because although Americans clearly vote in favor of their preferred nominee in the Presidential election, the Electoral College institution elects the president. Successively the founding fathers compromised the Electoral College within the U.S. Constitution allotting every state with as many votes as it has members the President is not elected during the course of a national popular vote. The procedure was crafted as a medium terrain in the deliberation over whether voters or Congress would possess dominance to vote for the President. Currently when nominating the President through a national popular vote there certainly still is support, removing the procedure of assigning electors between the stated by means
Throughout history there hasn’t been as much controversy toward the Electoral College results during the elections. The Electoral College itself promotes a broad two party system ideologically and geographically, while maintaining a federal system of government and representation. (Benjamin Zycher) The Electoral College also follows the country's history by making a decision while using popular support or a more important group of people that are separated from the population. Sometimes, the Electoral College may determine a winner based on the decision of the faithless electors, which leaves that specific state in misery by overriding the people votes. Having a more educated decision is what truly separates the Electoral College and popular vote. The education of a vote stops the uneducated people from voting with their opinions that could be categorized in all types such as religion, race, laugh, health, and popularity mainly anything. Basically, the Electoral College takes the people's votes and overall takes a look at who was chosen, then discuss it and either go along with the people's voice or change it based on their knowledge. I honestly believe all faithless electors makes a strong decision because they may have felt that the people made a poor decision overall. Some uneducated people feel liI am all for the Electoral College regardless of fraudulent voting. It’s hands down better than population voting that will majority be in favor to the bigger states with more people.. The Electoral College has been worth all the flaws that it brings so I say we keep it and there is always from for
Although it seems otherwise, it is important to remember that the population of this nation is foremost and the political agendas should not be employed unless supported by the nation’s people. Donald Trump is the 45th president of the United States and the fifth president to enter office, even though he lost the national popular vote. The only way the people’s choice will prevail in the presidential elections is to employ a popular vote. Essentially, abolishing the Electoral College system is the most effective and efficient way to enact change. According to sources, “By overwhelming majorities, Americans would prefer to elect the president by direct popular vote, not filtered through the antiquated mechanism of the Electoral College” (Vespa, 2016). The Electoral College system is obviously faulty, “Because almost all states use a winner-take-all system, the election ends up being fought in just a dozen or so “battleground” states, leaving tens of millions of Americans on the sidelines” (Vesper, 2016). According to Stanford professors, the national popular vote is much more beneficial for choosing presidents compared to the Electoral College system thus, needs to be abolished. Stanford professors claim that, “Four out of five Americans exercised no real electoral voice in the 2012 presidential election due to the winner-take-all
But as we cleared what was one of the biggest hurdles that forced the creation of the electoral college (Lack of technology to keep up with politics and candidates effectively), there is no purpose of one. Too many times has this system that is supposed to fairly decide our president failed because presidents won despite American people voting for their opponent. This system is proven to be inherently flawed, and especially after this election it is time to consider a new system of election our next presidents. When we put our faith in mysterious electors who aren’t even obligated to respect our voting preference, we lose an integral piece of democracy. We lose the voice of the
Your vote should mainly matter! Yes, the electoral college should be abolished. The delegates did not believe the president should be chosen by a direct population vote (of the people). They didn’t trust voters would have enough information to make a good choice. The Electoral College is where the president and vice president are chosen indirectly. This system is where all states and the District of Columbia get one electoral vote for each of their US senators and representatives. Also, each state has a slate of electors for each presidential candidate. Another way this system works is by winner-take all method. The winner-take all method is where whichever candidate wins the most votes in the state, wins the state electoral votes. Lastly a candidate must receive a majority (one more than a half) of the electoral votes to be declared president. That is how everything goes in the electoral college. The electoral college should be abolished because 12 states and D.C. total have double the amount of electoral votes but less people than Illinois. Also, the winner of the 1876 presidential election isn’t what people wanted, it was based on the number of electoral votes. Another reason the electoral college should be abolished is that the states with the same representatives dont have the same number of voters. All these issues that continue to happen, need to be resolved by getting rid of this system.
“The Electoral College in the US is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and the vice president.” The Electoral College has been the system of voting in the US since 1787, but with the growing and changing of our country, it has been a very controversial topic whether or not to keep the system in place. On five separate occasions in the history of our country, the Electoral College has voted against majority rules for the nation’s president. Many may say that this is an infringement on the rights of the people themselves to vote for their own president, because in these five instances, it truly was left to a small group of people
It’s November 8th, and you are finally old enough to vote. You head to the nearest voting station and check the name of the person you think is most fit to be President of the United States. Heart filled with excitement, you put on your ‘I voted’ sticker and head home to watch the election unravel. Your state’s votes were finally counted, and the presidential candidate you voted for lost by 1%. Your heart sinks as you realize all electoral votes for your state will go to the opposing candidate, and 48% of your population’s votes will be silenced. The Electoral College should no longer be used to elect the President of the United States, because it is an outdated method that makes the votes of the people diluted and unequally distributed across the country.
First, the candidate who wins the Electoral College will always win by a greater percentage of electoral votes than popular votes; therefore, making the candidate the clear winner. For instance, in the 2012 Presidential
Its November 8, and you are finally old enough to vote. You head to the nearest voting station and check the name of the person you think is most fit to be President of the United States. Heart filled with excitement, you put on your “I voted” sticker and head home to watch the election unravel. Your states votes were finally counted, and the presidential candidate you voted for lost by 1%. Your heart sinks as you realize all electoral votes for your state will go to the opposing candidate, and 48% of your population’s votes will be silenced. The Electoral College should no longer be used to elect the President of the United States, because it is an out dated method that makes the votes of the people diluted and unequally distributed across the country.
Every four years, millions of people agonize over the media and news about 2 candidates for months until they wake up on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. Some of those people drive over to their specified polling building. They walk into a booth and place a vote on the next President of the United States including many other offices. Now, most of these people believe this is how our President is elected, strictly through popular vote. However, they are missing a crucial piece, one that can change the election entirely, and is known as the Electoral College.
With the surge of controversy surrounding the recent election, the United States has rekindled the Electoral College debate. However, this isn’t the first time that a tight election has resulted in unclear or contested results. Nor is it the first time the Electoral College has made a president out of the popular vote loser. In the over two hundred years since its construction, the Electoral College has demonstrated its shortcomings with more than its share of mishaps. Is this system a tribute to democracy and the brilliance of its creators or is it an archaic tradition that should be eliminated?
If the popular decided who became President of the United States then they people would feel as if they seem to make a difference. The people would get to have a say in who acts as our next leader. The electoral college favors majority parties while the popular vote favors no specific party in particular (Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote). The people of the United States will be able to choose their president based on their own opinions
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,
When it comes to voting for a president in an election, there are two factors that need to be considered: the popular vote and the Electoral College. Many people believe that the Electoral College provides absolute certainty of the outcome, but do the state electors actually provide a voice for the people? There is no doubt the people are the ones who vote for the electors so the desired vote could be made by them; however, the voters have no power over whom the electors decide to vote for. In reality, the electors are the ones who choose who will be president, not the people. Therefore, there should be a change to election by popular vote for the President of the United States so that everyone’s vote begins to count.