The resolution cleared the House 338 to 70, but failed to pass the Senate.[2]. These Politics essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies. Furthermore, Neale gave a detailed description of the General Ticket system and other alternative systems that give the audience a full spectrum of the Electoral College process. However, nowadays registered voters can get their news instantly, thus are informed about the candidates. Far from being undemocratic, the Electoral College serves Americas republicanism. Out of these concerns came the decision that the president would be elected indirectly. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. But these periodic crises could never have happened if we had elected our presidents by counting just the popular vote. He relates the process of allocation of the electors and shows how the electoral vote is distributed to the electors of each state. But do they really? Four were appointed by Democratic presidents. LET'S ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE Are the people smart enough to choose their own leader? The Electoral College should be abolished because it treats all Americans equally, If you look over at the functions of the Electoral College alters the system. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. It's completely rigged. In fact, if given the choice of either accepting his loss or preserving our democracy, which outcome would Trump choose? Breitbart reported: He called the U.S. system of providing equal representation to Americans across the country in the presidential election, "one of those bad compromises we made at day one in this country." Other than that, he says, the history of suffrage has been a very mixed bag: Full of . Download the full version above. If the Electoral College doesnt produce a majority winner, the election of the president goes to the House of Representatives where each state casts a single vote. When we were kids on the playground and an angry dispute ensued, someone would always shout "majority rules." And we'd vote. Those who wish to abolish the system have laid out plans to replace the system with a more Popular vote oriented system which counts each individual vote directly (Neale 2004). The United States, Presidential elections provide a level of legitimacy to each new administration by following the will of the people (Clayton 2007; Koza 2016). . Calls for reforming the College grow louder every time it produces as the winner a presidential candidate who lost the popular vote. Save it to your . Everyone gets one vote. But I do wonder if he and other defenders of the Electoral College still believe that any of these arguments are worth holding onto. It removes a potential for disaster in presidential elections. , Because a states number of electors is based on total population, not actual voters, it gives the states no incentive to enfranchise new groups of people, or to make voting easier for those eligible. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. I have argued for decades that we need to get rid of the Electoral College. Clinton, who clearly despised Trump, graciously conceded the election on Election Night. The Electoral College voting system goes against republicanism as it contradicts the belief that citizens have the ability to directly choose their leaders. The electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President, after which the Electoral College ceases to exist until the next presidential election. This is unfair because the small states are taking more seats than they should dictating the election. A party system was instituted really to fulfill that old function of the Electoral College's, which is to narrow people down and get responsible people to be candidates for the presidency. The crisis of 1824 then, represented really the collapse of the old system, and an effort to re-institute it in other terms. 4. The proposal was drawn by James Madison, and it drew on ideas first proposed by James Wilson, the chief proponent of a directly elected chief executive. By one analysis of the 2012 presidential election, four out of five voters had virtually zero influence on the outcome. Aside from all the problems that have arisen in determining who has actually won two of our last five presidential elections, we need to return to a basic electoral principle: One person, one vote. In this plan, the Electoral College would be abolished as known, but the then 531 electoral votes would still be put to use. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. I will concede that the Electoral College might ensure the stability of the two party system. Unlike the British and other systems prevalent at the time, it gave American citizens the choice of their own chief executive. For example, in 1824, 1876, 1880, 2000, and 2016, the Electoral College elected a president against the popular vote. It was also a savvy compromise. Lets briefly review what happened in 2000 during Bush vs. Gore. Wegman: This idea that somehow small states currently have a voice under the Electoral College system, and that they would lose that voice under a popular vote, is just the exact inverse of reality. Performance & security by Cloudflare. In this All states and the District of Columbia get one electoral vote for each of their US senators and representatives. Illing: What would you say is the biggest myth or misconception about the Electoral College? Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 32 minutes and 09 seconds. Your vote encourages the electoral college to vote for your nominee What's the system called when a candidate for president gets the majority of the dates popular vote also gets all that states electoral votes Winner take all What's the other system where delegates are divided based on each districts popular vote Proportional These issues still affect out modern day political sphere. The main complaints against the Electoral College are that it can elect someone who didnt win the nationwide popular vote and that it causes candidates to campaign heavily in battleground states while ignoring those they think they are certain to carry or not. I respect Will as an astute observer of politics. Since the beginning of the millennium we have had five presidential elections. Clinton, who clearly despised Trump, graciously conceded the election on Election Night. (04.06 MC) The President of the United States cannot stand above the battle engaging in vague little sermons on brotherhood. The Electoral College was and continues to be an undemocratic system that stands as an obstacle for the United States to become a real democracy. })(); ValueWalk.com is a highly regarded, non-partisan site the website provides unique coverage on hedge funds, large asset managers, and value investing. This created situations where rivals could occupy those posts. The Electoral College consists of electors, and an absolute majority of votes is needed for a candidate to win the election. However, despite displaying clear terms on our sites, sometimes users scan work that is not their own and this can result in content being uploaded that should not have been. The Electoral College has 538 electors; each state has a set number of electors equivalent to its two US senators plus its number of US congressional house representatives. Tyler Lewis says that one of the problems with the Electoral College is "The distribution of Electoral College votes per state is not equally dispersed.". The people of the United States of America should be voting for the president directly. Its primary function is to malapportion political power, and it does so indeed, has always done so with strikingly awful consequences. Past proposals for change by constitutional amendment have included various reform options and direct popular election, which would eliminate the Electoral College system, but no substantive action on this issue, has been taken in Congress for more than 20 years. Interestingly, the electoral vote totals of Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2016 were identical - 306. Please speak to a licensed financial professional before making any investment decisions. At that time, 80% of Americans supported abolishing the Electoral College, and an amendment to do so passed the House 339-70, only to be killed in the Senate through a filibuster coordinated by. A majority of Americans believe the Electoral College should be eliminated. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Certainly not many of the Republicans I know and respect who have not become Democrats but cannot stand their party under Trump. A failure to elect a President, or worse, the choice of a chief executive whose legitimacy might be open to question, could precipitate a constitutional crisis that would require prompt, judicious, and well-informed action by Congress. For starters, direct elections by voters can create incentives for broad public participation. It was compromise between the states and the people. Why is that a big deal? Therefore, they are not focusing on the needs of the people all over America which is going against what the founding fathers wanted. Democrat Hillary Clinton got over 2 million 800 thousand more votes than Republican Donald T Republicans won the 2004 election, but the Electoral College actually gave the Democrats a boost. Richard Nixon in 1968 won 43% of the popular vote but 56% of the Electoral College, and Bill Clinton in 1992 won 43% of the popular vote but 69% of the Electoral College. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The Electoral College is essential if we are to preserve our American ideals and the Constitutional form of government that has served us so well for so long. Legitimacy for any elected official is an important factor for governance of a State. Editor's Note: In 2016, we asked two professors to debate whether the Electoral College should cease to be the mechanism used for selecting the U.S. president.Here are the yea and the nay. There is no need to worry about the excesses of majority rule. Although this is very unlikely to happen, the fact that a candidate could win the elections with only 21.8 percent of the popular vote clearly shows that the majority of the people are not always represented in the Electoral College. "The main complaints against the Electoral College are that it can elect someone who didn't win the nationwide popular vote and that it causes candidates to campaign heavily in 'battleground states' while ignoring those they think they are certain to carry or not. It's electors who decide elections, and there is a . A simple, popular election would produce a majoritarian winner, but the College allows the people of every state a direct say in the Executive branch. Should U.S. Supreme Court Justices Have Term Limits? Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. My stance to abolish the Electoral College has drawn some ire. THE HILL 1625 K STREET, NW SUITE 900 WASHINGTON DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 TEL | 202-628-8503 FAX. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. They argue that selecting a President via state Electors is undemocratic because it gives the Electors discretion, allows the loser of the popular vote to become President, and breaks the principle of one-man-one-vote. . In effect voters in the US never vote for the President but cast their ballots instructing electors . Each state gets their total number of votes decided based on the population of the state plus two guaranteed senators. [15], [1] https://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/, [2] https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Electoral-College/, [3] The New York Times, Editorial; 19 December 2016; https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/opinion/time-to-end-the-electoral-college.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article. The framers at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 weren't so sure. Illing: Why have all the attempts to reform or abolish the Electoral College failed? jo.type = 'text/javascript'; The federal government would have to regulate voter and candidate qualifications, voting requirements and election procedures. The site offers no paid services and is funded entirely by advertising. Presidential System Could be More Suitable for India, Why Ambedkar Didnt Like Indias Constitution. The brightest students know that the best way to learn is by example! I am a fan of rural Americans and remain devoted to the success of our farmers and heartland. Clearly, we need to drastically change the way we elect presidents. A More Perfect Constitution: 23 Proposals to Revitalize Our Constitution and Make America a Fairer Country. Its appointed every four years for this sole purpose by state legislatures, and consists of Electors in a number equal to each states congressional delegation (Representatives and Senators). What Would Gandhi Think of Our Constitution? Party elders, led by Barack Obama, realized the key to the general election would be moderate suburban voters, including Trump-weary Republicansmany of whom were terrified of Bernie Sanderss socialism and Elizabeth Warrens economic populism. With the Electoral College, the value of a vote depends on what state a person lives in. When Americans vote for a President and Vice President, they are actually choosing presidential electors, known collectively as the Electoral College. SEPTEMBER 15, 2020. In response to Donald Trump winning the presidency despite losing the popular vote, numerous individuals have weighed in with letters-to-the-editor, op-eds, blog posts, videos, and the like, and thanks to the revolution in digital communications, these items have reached an exceptionally wide audience. ValueWalk also contains archives of famous investors, and features many investor resource pages. Quote Reply Topic: Let's abolish the Electoral College Posted: 11 February 2008 at 7:20pm: Let's abolish the Electoral College. They think it antiquated, irrational and undemocratic and argue for scrapping it in favor of a national popular vote. This hour, we look at the Electoral College, its history . Instead, the delegates settled on a system involving an Electoral College. This has heightened calls to abolish what some say is an antiquated system of electors. 2011-2023 VALUEWALK LLC. Thanks to Donald Trump, what was once the relic of our system is now an active threat to the future of our democracy. State electoral vote results are reported to Congress and other designated authorities; they are then counted and declared at a joint session of Congress held on January 6 of the year after the election; Congress may, however, change this date by joint resolution. It was devised during the framing of the Constitution in order to provide a method of indirect election for the Office of President. Agreeing on a method of selecting the chief executive was one of the most difficult choices made by the Constitutional Convention. For example, they created the Electoral College because news traveled slowly, so people weren't . However, technology has made it so that the information . Disputed results from the 2020 presidential . . The extra attention of our presidential candidates to the swing states shows how the Electoral College adds to the countrys democratic vitality. document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(jo); should the electoral college be abolished answer key demomail@gmail.com. The Court voted along party lines, anointing George W. Bush the 43rd president of the United States. It preserved states rights, increased the independence of the executive branch, and avoided the danger of provincialism involved in popular election. Let's get to 100! EssaySauce.com has thousands of great essay examples for students to use as inspiration when writing their own essays. Electors assemble in their respective states on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December (December 19 in 2016). The Electoral College system was started to keep urban communities as well as cities from having the power in the Presidential election. A voter in Wyoming has nearly four times more influence than a voter in California. In fact, the problems it would cause became quite evident as early as the election of 1800, and were repeated in 1824 and 1876. It distorts representation, arguably hinders democratic process and has a large impact on the outcome of a presidential election for better and for worse. Alexander Keyssar explains its persistence. The Founding Fathers knew that there needed to be a system like an electoral college in place to ensure the USA flourishes. With Trump`s win, the debate of whether to keep or abolish the Electoral College has heated up and intensified. The funds added 7.7% overall in the second half of 2022, outperforming the 3.4% return for Read More. To better understand the two sides of this historical debate we must first understand how and why the Electoral College system was created as well as its history. We saw this happen in the 2016 election with Donald J. 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