Summary: The United States Electoral System

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 Instead we use a confusing and outdated system called the Electoral College.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

“Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy.” These words from the Greek philosopher Plato summarize the most fundamental concern of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention when they considered what the best way to conduct presidential elections would be. While, in concept, democracy sounds like the fairest form of government, in practice, it is less than ideal. Fear of “tyranny of the majority” prompted discussion over how the president should be elected. The Founders chose the Electoral College—which incorporates democracy, federalism, and republicanism—for presidential selection, because it provided for the best balance of power. The Electoral College was the product of no small amount of debate during the Constitutional

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.

In the Electoral College system, as presented by Hamilton, every voice is heard and there is a greater guarantee that the elected will effectively represents those voices in office. During election season, the people in the states vote for the representatives that will make up the Electoral College. The people within the states will votes for the prudent few that they believe best conform to their political interests, just as they do for those voted into the House of Representatives. As a result, the few elected representatives in each state mirror the average person within their state. The desires, beliefs, and interests of those representatives hold the same desires, beliefs, and interests of those within the state. The only difference is that the votes of those few would hold more weight than if everyone in the states vote. Each representative in the Electoral College casts his vote with the knowledge that their vote will change the course of their country and affect the lives of their fellow countrymen. The gravity of such a responsibility would push each representative to give great consideration into who should be elected as president. They would scrutinize over their decision, debate the merits of each candidate, and ultimately elect one prudent man to lead the country. In stark contrast, the process of voting in modern day America is treated with less importance than given most mundane tasks. Today, Americans give little thought to whom they will vote for as

In addition, proponents of the Electoral College ground their objections in the Republican tradition alongside the American government system. In this view, defenders contend that the Bill of Rights, judicial review, and the executive veto introduce numerous complexities. Therefore, suppose any prudish lucidity is to become the standard approach of deciding the things that should remain and those that requires simplification in American government, then nothing would remain. As Diamond argues, very few Americans have shown interest in politics and the overall knowledge of an average voter is partial (218). Taken together, the idea that voters are unknowledgeable led to the present condition of understanding the Electoral College, as many people misconstrue its dealings. In a different line of defense, proponents of Electoral College argue that it contributes to the political stability of the country. In detail, the College encourages a two-party system while depressing propagation of fragment parties like those seen in many European

Our Voting System is clearly being corrupted. Problems identifying legitimate voters is much more serious than anyone is acknowledging. With identity scams on the rise, states are getting tougher on the identification requirements needed to vote. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that a provision of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional and those counties and states previously subjected to these laws did not need approval to make changes to their voter ID laws. Eight states passed voter ID laws that year. Since then three states Georgia, Indiana and Florida require photo ID’s, eighteen other states now require some form of identification (National Conference of State Legislatures), with the other 25 only requiring signatures. In lieu of all the voter ID fraud, is it imperative for states to put in place a Voter ID Law? Will these laws put a burden on the states citizens or will they become disenfranchised if they don’t have the proper ID (Rodriguez, US. Election Assistant Commission), and is it just another hurdle that voters will have to leap over to vote for who or what they believe in?

While the main purpose for voter ID is to eliminate fraud and corruption in the American voting system, it has brought with it consequences that discourage and even prohibit eligible voters to vote. The 2012 election, a vast number of state required a government-issued photo ID. Even the state Indiana required this even though “state GOP officials couldn 't provide a single instance of a voter committing the type of fraud the new ID law was supposed to stop” (Berman). Surprisingly, in Wisconsin, they will only except ID’s containing “a current address, birth date, signature and two-year expiration date” that so far

Chapter 8 topics varies from voter’s perspectives, constitutional amendments, and candidate’s perspectives. This election has raised many concerns for voters who are deciding whether to vote or to not vote. Voting is a privilege just like driving, but everyone is not able to partake in this privilege due to law barriers. I learned that the fifteenth amendment outlawed race-based restriction on voting. Later the twenty-fourth amendment which passed in 1964 forbided the use of poll taxes in federal elections. This has also been applied to state election since the court passed this in 1966.

The system of electing a president was established in 1787 and it was called the Electoral College and it is still the broken system that we use today, but it is also the best system we know because it can stop a horrible decision. The biggest issue with electoral college is that it's not a vary democratic system. The electors are the ones who actually vote, but they have the power to vote for who they want in office. The voting system is a money pot and investor are willing to pay into the pot of cash because it is the deciding factor whether the rich should pay higher taxes and in that spirit, it's worth for the rich to invest in it. There is lobbyist in the government who can persuade any part of the government and hired by the rich who

In Arizona, the voter registration system was confusing which resulted in tens of thousands of people who thought they are registered to vote were disenfranchised when they try to vote. It was a way for Arizona to enforce the proof of citizenship requirement. If an individual in Arizona wanted to vote both state and federal elections, the individual must provide specific documents such as a birth certificate to prove citizenship. Such “political disenfranchisement” (Chavez-Garcia 550) was seen by the Supreme Court and held that Arizona cannot add a document to prove citizenship in federal elections which every state has to accept the federal form. This “dual registration system” is designed to deprive registration for eligible soon to be voters

Even though Alexander Hamilton accurately predicted foreign powers attempting to gain a stake in the American election, he missed several other pitfalls in the Electoral system, and those are all becoming apparent in modern times (Salon). Currently, the issue leaves the public feeling as though they are unrepresented, and this not only weakens the trust Americans have in their government, it weakens the process of determining a new president

America was built on a foundation of freedom and rights. These rights are outlined in an attempt to let the average United States citizen’s voice be heard throughout the country. Voting in elections is the key to our democracy. Voting is a way that the people of the United States are able to voice their opinions about who they believe should lead the country; however, the founding fathers created the electoral college in order to protect the government against factions that could arise. The electoral college is a highly debated system that some Americans believe needs to be abolished.

Have you once heard some one say "That's unconstitutional!" or "That's my constitutional right!" It’s a phrase used quite often, but many a time misunderstood. There are many misconceptions among Americans and astonishingly, many basic fundamental “rights” that we so cherish as Americans are in actuality not guaranteed by our nations most important founding document. One such misconception is something that will surprise you. Many Americans believe that the government cannot prohibit its citizens from voting, but the truth is - if Americans read their Constitution, they would be shocked to see that in no where does it provide that Americans are forever entitled to the right to vote. With that arises the question – does America need a

During his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Barack Obama observed that there was not a red America or a blue America, but a United States of America. Such sentiment implied that every citizen, hailing from all fifty states, shares a common set of principles and rights that distinctly marks him or her as a member of this nation. Although unmentioned during that landmark speech, one may assume that universal suffrage is one such right that all Americans share, binding our diverse nation together. However, although voter intimidation and violence is much less prevalent within America as it was in the past, disenfranchisement remains a reality as a result of partisan manipulation of election-administration laws. As

In a country with more than three hundred million people, allowing each person to have a voice would be impossible without the employment of the voting system. The human individual yearns for love, security, peace, and accomplishment, and none of those things would be possible without freedom, and our founding fathers have granted us the key to unlocking our freedom with the power to vote. With enough determination and cooperation, the ballot has the power to change politicians’ views, laws, and the course of history. With the right to vote, each man and woman is entitled to his or her own opinion. While there are two political parties that encompass the majority of Americans, we are not subject to having only two choices. There are the