• Home Page
  • Why Do We Need The Electoral College

Why Do We Need The Electoral College

Improved Essays
Show More
Do We Need the Electoral College
Megan Browe
Wayne State University

Do We Need the Electoral College The Electoral College is a process that the founding fathers created as an agreement between election of the president by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (Barbour & Wright, 2006). This system is fixed in the Constitution and it consists of 538 electors. To elect the president, a majority of 270 votes are needed. Every state’s number of electors depends on their Congressional status. Each state has one elector for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for Senators. Basically, the numbers of electors vary in every state (Shaw, 2006).
Every candidate running for President has their own group of electors. The citizens of the United States actually choose their candidates electors. When citizens are voting for the presidential candidates they are also voting for the candidates that are chosen to be there electors (Shaw, 2006). The Electoral College has supporters and opponents that have certain views about how this process …show more content…
By representing each state equally through population and congressional standards, these people feel that this is the fairest way to elect presidential candidates. Also, the Electoral College encourages the two- party system because it is difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes In order to have a chance at winning the presidency. Basically, third party views (Not Democratic or Republican) comprise more of the radical views that usually don’t pertain to the general public. This third party usually doesn’t get enough votes, so then the two major parties are left to decide which president will be elected. This is also a fair aspect of the Electoral College that the supporters agree

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Negative Effects Of The Winner-Take-All Method
    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Negative Effects Of The Winner-Take-All Method

    In the current US election system, citizens do not directly vote for their next President. Instead, there is a group called The Electoral College that carries out that function. Citizens Cast their votes and then those votes are tallied up by state. Once tallied, the Electors, also known as Representatives, of the states go and place their votes. Each state has a certain amount of electoral votes placed by those electors.…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Dbq
    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Electoral College Dbq

    The electoral college system is used to elect the president. The candidate who wins the majority of votes (270) wins the election. The electoral college is made up of electors chosen by each state that is equal to the number of representatives in congress. The electoral college should not be changed at all because it protects from uneducated decisions, it protects equal votes for states, and insures a fair vote.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Compromise Analysis
    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Great Compromise Analysis

    Our founding fathers established this process between the Congress and popular vote by the people to elect a President of the United States. An Electoral College is that each state is the same number as senators ans representativies that is present in the U.S. Congress. Total number of votes including the District of Columbia is 538. In order for a Presidental Elect to when his/her seat as Presidental of the United States by the Electoral College is 270 votes. Since the radification of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804 and still the constitional foundation for presidental elections today (O’Connor, Sabato, Yanus pg. 330).…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Should Electoral College Be Abolished Essay
    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Should Electoral College Be Abolished Essay

    The Electoral College, founded during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, mediated the voting interests of both the states and the federal government. It was initially designed to promote the voice of small states and the American people, create a well-informed voting body, and establish the Presidency as an independent election free from Congressional bias. Although this strategy was an effective solution to political disputes of the aforementioned era, it has now become outdated in contemporary society. Consequently, the Electoral College should be abolished for the subsequent reasons: It is undemocratic in nature, guilty of inequitable representation of the population, and discourages third party candidates from campaigning for the Presidency.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Dbq Analysis
    • 1009 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Electoral College Dbq Analysis

    A few years after the United States was founded, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the nation would be governed. They decided that they needed a leader to govern the nation. Based on experiences, the delegates knew that they needed find someone who was not a tyrant and did not abuse their power. The delegates did not believe that the president should be chosen by popular vote. They did not contemplate that voters would be perspicacious enough to make a worthy choice in choosing the president.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Electoral College Flaws
    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Electoral College Flaws

    Dear State Senator, the electoral college is an obsolete system of election. Although the electoral college was an idea set by the founding fathers in the constitution, this form of election is not effective any longer. People have the right to vote, but this form of election is not directly voting for a representative. The electoral college essentially makes the people vote for electors who then have the opportunity to vote for whom ever they would like. The electoral system is an archaic system that needs to be exchanged for the popular vote because the people do not vote for an actual representative, the system has failed before, and the system has the opportunity to have an even greater mishap.…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Should Electoral College Be Abolished Essay
    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Should Electoral College Be Abolished Essay

    Electoral College is a body of people representing the United States who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. The federal system picks "trusted" men nominated to be elected. The number of electors is determined by federal representation for each state. Each state gets a minimum of 3 electors, for a total of 538 electoral votes, 535 members of Congress, 3 for the District of Columbia. Electoral College is like saying a black person commits a crime and now that person has to go to court and face a jury picked unfairly.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Research Paper
    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Electoral College Research Paper

    The Electoral College is not, as its name suggests, a physical place, but more appropriately a procedure. It was formed by the framers of our Constitution as a compromise between a popular vote and Congressional vote for the presidential election process. They felt that the general public of their time was not educated enough to elect the president, as well as they aimed to keep the election of the president out of the hands of the majority. It is called for by Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution and was adjusted by the 12th and 23rd amendments. The Electoral College currently consists of 538 members with the number of electoral votes per state being equal to the amount of representatives sent to the House plus the two…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Arguments Against The Electoral College
    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Arguments Against The Electoral College

    The Electoral College, as stated above, is a system used by the United States government that allows an indirect election of the president. Each state has a specific amount of electors, and each elector votes for whomever…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Should Be Abolished Essay
    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Electoral College Should Be Abolished Essay

    Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the Electoral College has a body of people who elect the president and vice president of the United States. The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and by the citizens. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 votes is required to become President. Each state has a different number of electoral votes that equals the number of members in its Congress.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Persuasive Essay On The Electoral College
    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On The Electoral College

    The founding fathers of our nation spent over two months trying to devise a plan that would have a fair and just way of elected our nation’s principal administrator. The Electoral College is constructed of state electors that equal the number of the United States House of Representatives plus the 2 senators from each state. The District of Columbia has three electoral votes even though it is not a state and has no voting representation (“Presidential Election Process”). There are 538 electors total for the Electoral College and 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidential election (“Presidential Election Process”). These individuals are picked by the political parties of the states that they represent and they vote in December and Congress then tally’s these votes in January.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Dbq
    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Electoral College Dbq

    Electoral College The President of the United States of America is the most powerful man in the world. As the Commander-in-Chief, Leader of the represented party, and peacekeeper among the world, the President’s job is up for grabs every four years. Article II of The Constitution states, any natural born citizen who has been a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years, and above the age of thirty-five can become the President (Posner 1). In order to be elected, the candidate must first win a majority of the state’s representatives and secure the party nomination.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Abolish The Electoral College
    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Abolish The Electoral College

    Consisting of a total of 538 electors the Electoral College of the United States of America is the organization that elects, every four years, the President and Vice President. The Founding Fathers of America, such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington, among many others, established the Electoral College in the Constitution, in the late 1700’s, whom the Congressional Digest claims was entrenched “as a compromise between election of the President by Congress and election by direct popular vote.” With the Electoral College, the citizens of the United States have the opportunity to elect their representative every four years. Every four years on Election Day, which takes place in the first Tuesday after a Monday in the month of November, those who meet the requirements, such as being 18 years old and an American citizen, have the right to vote for the President and Vice President that they believe will not only be their voice for the next for years but also be a great contributor to the success of their country. Both the President and the Vice President are allowed to reclaim their position for a second consecutive year in which they must go through the Electoral College process, gain the voters trust, and win the election for a second time.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College
    • 1924 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College

    Every four years, citizens of the United States of America choose their next president based off a unique system known as the electoral college. The way that this system works is interesting and is confused easily in the general public. In early November, when citizens go to the polls, they are not voting for the president directly, rather they are voting for their individual states to cast its electoral votes towards a certain presidential candidate. In the forty-eight of the fifty states where voting takes place, all the electoral votes go to the presidential candidate who wins the majority in their state. No matter how large or small the majority is, the presidential candidate gets all the votes.…

    • 1924 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Process Essay
    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Electoral College Process Essay

    Electoral College Process With the upcoming presidential election in November 2106, I believe that it is important to understand our government, and how the leader of our country will truly be selected, come election time. Most people think that their vote personally effects who wins the presidency, but what they do not realize, is that there is a system in place called the Electoral College. I am a firm believer in educated voting, and knowing how the system works plays hand in hand with being educated on the candidate that you are voting for. In my generation, it seems that most people get out to vote just to vote, without really doing their research, and I do not believe that this is what voting is all about.…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings