The Electoral College which was brought about in 1787, has given more power to smaller states by requiring that all electoral votes go to the candidate who receives the plurality in that state. Although the electoral college was a compromise between election of the president by a popular vote of "qualified citizens", The termination of the electoral college has been the topic of discussion for quite a few decades. The citizens of American believe they should abolish the Electoral College and adopt popular vote to ensure that their vote is accounted for rather than appointed electors. The American people believe their country's president should be chosen for the people by the people.
The Electoral College is a group of 538 people that select …show more content…
For the second time in 16 years, the candidate who lost the popular vote has won the presidency. Hillary Clinton beat Trump by more than 2.8 million votes; almost 138 million Americans went to the polls this year, but Donald Trump secured his Electoral College victory thanks to fewer than 80,000 votes across three states which were Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This left many Americans upset with their last 2016 election. With popular vote, a presidential election reflects the will of Americans and promotes a more participatory democracy. Although there are many reasons the Electoral College should be eliminated, one could …show more content…
According to Schultheis, “The candidates would instead go to where their votes are – even if those votes are in a deeply Democratic – or Republican – leaning state” (cbsnews.com, 2016). For the Democrats, they would pay more attention on Democratic states like California and New York, while Republicans would focus on Texas and deep south states. This would change the process of campaigning by making the smaller states even less significant which would create a biased election thus skewing the votes. There would be no need for candidates to visit the smaller states since their votes would not matter as much. This would defeat the purpose of the Electoral College, which is to prevent the majority rule.
Finally, the Electoral College is established in the constitution. According to Cillizza, “the process of eliminating the electoral college is arduous” (cnn.com, 2017). The process would require a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, and a three-quarters of the states to ratify the change within a seven-year window. The difficulty of this process makes it hard to amend the
The Electoral College is a group of 538 people that select …show more content…
For the second time in 16 years, the candidate who lost the popular vote has won the presidency. Hillary Clinton beat Trump by more than 2.8 million votes; almost 138 million Americans went to the polls this year, but Donald Trump secured his Electoral College victory thanks to fewer than 80,000 votes across three states which were Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This left many Americans upset with their last 2016 election. With popular vote, a presidential election reflects the will of Americans and promotes a more participatory democracy. Although there are many reasons the Electoral College should be eliminated, one could …show more content…
According to Schultheis, “The candidates would instead go to where their votes are – even if those votes are in a deeply Democratic – or Republican – leaning state” (cbsnews.com, 2016). For the Democrats, they would pay more attention on Democratic states like California and New York, while Republicans would focus on Texas and deep south states. This would change the process of campaigning by making the smaller states even less significant which would create a biased election thus skewing the votes. There would be no need for candidates to visit the smaller states since their votes would not matter as much. This would defeat the purpose of the Electoral College, which is to prevent the majority rule.
Finally, the Electoral College is established in the constitution. According to Cillizza, “the process of eliminating the electoral college is arduous” (cnn.com, 2017). The process would require a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, and a three-quarters of the states to ratify the change within a seven-year window. The difficulty of this process makes it hard to amend the