The Electoral College is an integral part of the current election process of the United States. Created during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Founding Fathers developed the establishment of Electors through debate of the Virginia Plan which proposed that Congress should elect the President. However, concerns of the President being controlled by Congress and fears over a small group of individuals being able to dictate who would hold office, presented the need to change the plan. The Committee of Eleven created the Electoral College in an attempt to proportionately divide state votes among delegates in the same numbers as their representatives in Congress, and the adoption of the Electoral College was “met with widespread approval
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In this sense, proponents argue that the process “somehow preserves federalism or small states ' legitimate interests” (Edwards 2005, p. 11). One concern of the democratic process is developing methods for maintaining equal representation across all states despite their size. Imbalances due to the weight given to states, the potential for the winner to lose the popular vote, and disproportionate advantages are all cited as major failures of the Electoral College in adhering to democratic principles. Proponents for direct elections cite these implications as a source of criticism of the current system. The national attention on those states that have the variability for political competition can cause an imbalance in issues that candidates consider (Grofman & Feld, 2009). These issues would be difficult to dictate in the case of a direct election. In this sense, it is evident that there was a particular purpose for the establishment of the Electoral College that goes beyond dividing votes in a responsible manner among the states. This involves ensuring the stability and the representation of each state. The implications of the Electoral College go well beyond simply ensuring that ill-informed people vote
In this sense, proponents argue that the process “somehow preserves federalism or small states ' legitimate interests” (Edwards 2005, p. 11). One concern of the democratic process is developing methods for maintaining equal representation across all states despite their size. Imbalances due to the weight given to states, the potential for the winner to lose the popular vote, and disproportionate advantages are all cited as major failures of the Electoral College in adhering to democratic principles. Proponents for direct elections cite these implications as a source of criticism of the current system. The national attention on those states that have the variability for political competition can cause an imbalance in issues that candidates consider (Grofman & Feld, 2009). These issues would be difficult to dictate in the case of a direct election. In this sense, it is evident that there was a particular purpose for the establishment of the Electoral College that goes beyond dividing votes in a responsible manner among the states. This involves ensuring the stability and the representation of each state. The implications of the Electoral College go well beyond simply ensuring that ill-informed people vote