Dbq Electoral College

The United States of America is built on the principles of government based on the consent of the people. Because of this, citizens have the right to vote for their mayors, governors, judges and most importantly the president. As the leader of our country, the president should be a direct reflection of Americans. With that in mind, the current system of the Electoral College is not an accurate representation of everyone. Many elections, including that of Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland and George W. Bush, have had a candidate with the presidency without winning the popular vote. This leaves many Americans wondering if there vote is actually vital and if our current system depicts all citizens. Although the electoral college was effective when the majority of Americans were uneducated, as the country evolves the United States needs to adopt a system of a …show more content…
This convention worked to set up government policies for running the newly independent country. The mid 1700’s was a time where many politicians were wary of the citizen’s knowledge. The Electoral College would allow the president to be chosen by the intelligent members of society due to the fear of an inexperienced person running the country. The original electors were voting with the intention of choosing the best candidate for presidency without any regards to their state of origin or political party. The number of electors was determined by the size of the state. In correlation with the Great Compromise, each state was permitted the number of votes equivalent to the number of members in Congress. Choosing these electors was each state’s responsibility. Although this later evolved at the time political parties emerged, each elector voted for two different candidates. The candidate with the most votes was determined to be the president while the runner up was elected to the vice president