Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Electoral College

While electing a new U.S president they say that your vote counts. You go in on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November and cast your presidential vote. But in actuality, your vote doesn’t really count, as least if you are not a part of the Electoral College. The institution that actually decides the next U.S president.
The Electoral College was established at the same time as the U.S Constitutional Convention in 1787, which was devised as a compromise for the less populated states and give them a fair hand during election. After the U.S population elects a president based off popular vote, it is the job of the Electoral College to make the final decision. Today there are 538 electors in the U.S Electoral College and the candidate that gets the majority votes of 270 will become the next president. Even though we are part of a democratic system, where it is the right of the people to choose, why does this not seem right?
The Electoral College has been a controversial issue, explaining that it does not represent a democracy. As seen in the election of George W. Bush’s second term, it was the public who chose Al Gore as the next president but yet it was Bush who stepped in to office in 2004.[1] Even though when the constitution was first created it was thought to be a good idea, make the democratic system fairer. But now in today’s modern lifestyles, the Electoral College has become a problem, it is not democracy.
This process that takes place every four years to elect another president only takes away the right of the people and sadly people have come to terms with it. During election time it has become a trend where people don’t feel the need to vote anymore because they think their vote does not count. Even if a person votes, in the end they have no say or power in who becomes the next president. I believe the Electoral College is taking away our right to vote, we actually don’t have the choice. Our vote does not count.




[1] http://www.history.com/topics/electoral-college

2 comments:

  1. The Electoral College was not a compromise between less and more populated states. Instead, it was a mechanism by which the Southern states with substantial slave populations retained political control.

    While abolishing the Electoral College sounds like a good idea, it is fraught with the peril of unintended consequences. For starters, candidates would see no reason to campaign in rural areas, and would instead pander their platforms to please the heavily-populated urban centers.

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  2. Here's a great video from 2012 with further discussion on why the Electoral College exists:
    http://l.prageru.com/2fXaHVw

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