The United States of America was officially declared an independent nation on July fourth, seventeen seventy-six with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence signed by our forefathers. Since we were to become a democracy, we faced many problems in how this was to be. Many factors were put into place, however, one of the most important factors was how the president is to be elected. The birth of the Electoral College was soon to come. The idea of majority rule, or “popular vote” was ridiculed because there have been other forms of democratic governments that have fallen to tyranny due to popular vote. In the end, the Founding Fathers decided what was best for the country: they would gather the most knowledgeable people (scholars, doctors,
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However, this system is outdated for our time, our nation needn’t fear tyranny and majority of our nation is, in fact, educated. The United States should not continue to utilize the Electoral College in Presidential elections. Over centuries of use, the Electoral College has proven to be increasingly undemocratic. “Under the Electoral College system, voters vote not for the president, but for a slate of electors, who in turn elect the president” (source 1). The president is not directly selected by the general public. A democracy is defined as “a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament.” Directly. The system of the Electoral College is used in a way that the people …show more content…
history, there have been about 700 failed proposals in Congress to change the electoral college system.” This is because Congress will not listen to what the American citizens have to say. The Electoral College violates the concept of political equality. Robert A. Dahl, a political theorist and Yale professor, argues “every member must have an equal and effective opportunity to vote, and all votes must be counted as equal.” Dahl proves a valid point. Since America is a democracy, the concept and use of political equality should be heavily weighted. If the votes of the public do not essentially count, seeing as the votes of the Electoral College are what makes-or-breaks the presidential result, then there is no political equality. In the book Why The Electoral College Is Bad For America by George C. Edwards III, he explains that the Electoral College “favor[s] some citizens over others depending solely on the state in which they live”(source 2), thus violating political equality. It is not fair that the system is this way because it does not allow the citizens to represent themselves and their political values
However, this system is outdated for our time, our nation needn’t fear tyranny and majority of our nation is, in fact, educated. The United States should not continue to utilize the Electoral College in Presidential elections. Over centuries of use, the Electoral College has proven to be increasingly undemocratic. “Under the Electoral College system, voters vote not for the president, but for a slate of electors, who in turn elect the president” (source 1). The president is not directly selected by the general public. A democracy is defined as “a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament.” Directly. The system of the Electoral College is used in a way that the people …show more content…
history, there have been about 700 failed proposals in Congress to change the electoral college system.” This is because Congress will not listen to what the American citizens have to say. The Electoral College violates the concept of political equality. Robert A. Dahl, a political theorist and Yale professor, argues “every member must have an equal and effective opportunity to vote, and all votes must be counted as equal.” Dahl proves a valid point. Since America is a democracy, the concept and use of political equality should be heavily weighted. If the votes of the public do not essentially count, seeing as the votes of the Electoral College are what makes-or-breaks the presidential result, then there is no political equality. In the book Why The Electoral College Is Bad For America by George C. Edwards III, he explains that the Electoral College “favor[s] some citizens over others depending solely on the state in which they live”(source 2), thus violating political equality. It is not fair that the system is this way because it does not allow the citizens to represent themselves and their political values