Should we get rid of the electoral college ?

Thesis statement : should we get rid of the Electoral College ?

Back with the founding father:

_tried to avoid monarchy

_some who thought the congress should elect the president: way much power, things could get corrupt very fast

_ president elected by the popular vote: lots of people couldn’t read write and were uneducated

5 times in history when the president lost the popular vote

A vote in a small state counts more than a vote in a big state

Too much power to the swing state: candidates focus on trying to appeal to these voters the most

Can’t have a third party

President will avoid the rural states to campaign only in big cities

Hard to do: requires a constitution a ,mendment: 2/3 majority in Congress

                                                    ¾ state approval

5 Reasons to Keep the Electoral College

1. Maintain American Federalism

A key argument to keep the Electoral College is that the process is integral to America’s federalist philosophy. Federalism involves diffusion of powers among federal state, and local governments rather than a strong central government. The Electoral College is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution but states are allowed to determine how electors are selected. Small states and large states have their say in each presidential election based on each state’s popular vote.

Eliminating the Electoral College would open other institutions to reform. Nevertheless, opening federalism to review would eliminate the need for the U.S. Senate because senators represent entire states rather than single voters. Also, state governments would lose their say in national affairs because electoral votes offer units of influence in elections.

2. Tradition of Slow but Steady Institutions

Advocates for the Electoral College harken back to the deliberations of the Constitutional Conventions over the new nation’s political processes. Electoral voting blocs by region go back and forth depending on regional changes as well as party stances. These changes take hold over decades of elections rather than oscillating from election to election.

The Electoral College has survived political strife, civil war, and other changes because represents state interests and protects against outlier movements.

The U.S. Constitution’s checks and balances mean that the American government isn’t supposed to move quickly. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches take great pains to limit excessive power by their respective branches. Each U.S. senator holds office for six years, providing enough time to implement policies without having to frequently seek a mandate.

3. Encourage National Campaigns

Supporters of the current electoral process say it forces candidates into truly national campaigns. Voters in different regions don’t need to worry that a candidate who only speaks to a small group of states will be their nation’s head of state. We can also say that the Electoral College forces presidential candidates and parties to develop national appeal by campaigning in closely contested states across the country.

The District of Columbia and seven states have three electoral votes each, meaning that they can act as decisive voices in close presidential elections. The voters in these states would be completely ignored without the Electoral College.

4. Clear and Decisive Outcomes

Proponents of maintaining the Electoral College often point to uncertainty surrounding lawsuits and recounts related to a popular vote model.

Moreover, electoral vote margins tend to exceed popular vote margins for winning presidential candidates. State voting blocs make ties rare and the popular vote remains an informal check on unpopular presidents. In addition, a popular vote election would likely require a runoff mechanism in cases where no candidate receives a majority of votes. For example, the 1968 and 1992 elections , where the absence of a popular vote majority would lead to serious questions about the president’s mandate without the Electoral College.

The Electoral College takes place as a mean for presidential legitimacy. Electoral votes create a majority winner in each election, sparing the nation any periods of constitutional crisis. He imagined a scenario under a popular vote system where individual issue parties fill the ballot and divide the presidential vote.

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5. Pitfalls of Popular Vote

Many arguments for keeping the Electoral College in place poke holes in arguments made for popular vote elections. In short, advocates see the Electoral College as the legitimate approach to presidential elections based on the country’s origins.

The Heritage Foundation published an essay in 2004 that, among other arguments, presented the Electoral College as a firewall against fraud. In the current system, a small number of fraudulent votes have no impact on the outcome of a presidential election. The Electoral College prevents systematic fraud by diffusing fraudulent voting across multiple states. Although, the margin for recounts, lawsuits, and questions about legitimacy would expand without the filter of electoral votes.

5 Reasons to Abolish the Electoral College

The following five reasons to abolish the Electoral College are offered by supporters of using a different approach to presidential elections.

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