Abolishment Of The Electoral College Jena Shattil Period 7 U.S Government
Americans currently choose their president through a system called the electoral college, which is an extremely complex system that many would call “undemocratic.” In this system, the president and vice president are indirectly chosen. Each state gets one electoral vote for each of their US senators and representatives. Each state will either vote democratic or republican, and the president, and the candidate will receive all of the electoral votes for that state. This system is very unfair, and gives the citizens almost no say in who will become president. The electoral college should be abolished because it does not represent what the people …show more content…
Ronald Reagan received 50.7% of the popular vote, and won the presidential election by collecting 91% of the electoral votes. This big margin of difference shows how the electoral college does not accurately show what the people want. States like Idaho that have a population of over 1.5 million people will only get 4 electoral votes, making their opinion in the presidential election extremely small. George C. Edwards states in Document D that “the electoral college violates political equality. It is not a neutral counting device.. It favors some citizens over others.” This document also shows that 12 states including Washington D.C that have a population of 12.5 million will get a total of 44 electoral votes, but Illinois which has a larger population than the 12 states combined only gets 20 electoral votes. This proves George C. Edward’s point of how the citizens of the 12 states are favored more than the entire population of …show more content…
Delegates believe that the direct popular vote should not be used because the voters may not have enough information about the running candidates to make a smart decision. The electoral college system allows each state to have one electoral vote for each of their US senators and representatives. Each state has a slate of electors for each presidential candidate, so when a citizen goes and votes, they aren't really voting for president, they are voting for the slate of electors. Whichever candidate wins the most votes in the state, wins all of the electoral votes for the entire state, which is a method called the “winners take all.” To become president, the candidate must receive a majority of the votes. All of these confusing rules and guidelines could be abolished if the president was chosen by direct popular vote. This method allows the citizens to have more of a decision in who gets to run their country and is a much more simpler way
Americans currently choose their president through a system called the electoral college, which is an extremely complex system that many would call “undemocratic.” In this system, the president and vice president are indirectly chosen. Each state gets one electoral vote for each of their US senators and representatives. Each state will either vote democratic or republican, and the president, and the candidate will receive all of the electoral votes for that state. This system is very unfair, and gives the citizens almost no say in who will become president. The electoral college should be abolished because it does not represent what the people …show more content…
Ronald Reagan received 50.7% of the popular vote, and won the presidential election by collecting 91% of the electoral votes. This big margin of difference shows how the electoral college does not accurately show what the people want. States like Idaho that have a population of over 1.5 million people will only get 4 electoral votes, making their opinion in the presidential election extremely small. George C. Edwards states in Document D that “the electoral college violates political equality. It is not a neutral counting device.. It favors some citizens over others.” This document also shows that 12 states including Washington D.C that have a population of 12.5 million will get a total of 44 electoral votes, but Illinois which has a larger population than the 12 states combined only gets 20 electoral votes. This proves George C. Edward’s point of how the citizens of the 12 states are favored more than the entire population of …show more content…
Delegates believe that the direct popular vote should not be used because the voters may not have enough information about the running candidates to make a smart decision. The electoral college system allows each state to have one electoral vote for each of their US senators and representatives. Each state has a slate of electors for each presidential candidate, so when a citizen goes and votes, they aren't really voting for president, they are voting for the slate of electors. Whichever candidate wins the most votes in the state, wins all of the electoral votes for the entire state, which is a method called the “winners take all.” To become president, the candidate must receive a majority of the votes. All of these confusing rules and guidelines could be abolished if the president was chosen by direct popular vote. This method allows the citizens to have more of a decision in who gets to run their country and is a much more simpler way