Electoral College Essay PDF

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Description of why the Electoral College is important....

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Electoral College Essay K. Reed Grand Canyon University: POS-301 May 4, 2020

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Many citizens today feel that the Electoral College is outdated and is not a valid way to determine the presidential election. The structure and function of the Electoral College are difficult to understand and why the Founders thought it was necessary to keep all the states votes equally equivalent to each other. While some citizens think a popular vote would be a better approach than the Electoral College many consequences are using a popular vote instead of the Electoral College and vice versa. Describe the Structure and Function of the Electoral College The Electoral College was created in the United States at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (How the electoral college system works 2017). It was the method that the delegates came up with on how the President would be elected. There were several ideas brought forth before the delegates agreed to the Electoral College. Such ideas were “selection by Congress, the governors of the States, by the State legislatures, by a special group of Members of Congress chosen by lot, or by direct popular election” (How the electoral college system works 2017). Electing the President was then referred to a committee called the Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters which finally decided on the Electoral College. In the Federalist 68, Alexander Hamilton wrote how the delegates were satisfied and relieved with how the president would be elected in support of the Electoral College. Compare the Electoral College to a Popular Vote Approach for Elections The Electoral College’s task is to ratify the voters’ choice for president. The number of electoral votes depends on the population of the state. The population determination is done by the last census taken. Each state is guaranteed two electoral votes for its senate membership and then a state can get anywhere from one to fifty-three electoral votes based on its House of

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Representatives delegation. Electors are regarded as agents of the public will (How the electoral college system works, 2017). Electors are expected to vote for the candidate of the party that nominated them (How the electoral college system works, 2017). However, some electors have gone against their party, they are referred to as "faithless" electors. After the federal election which is held on the first Tuesday in November, the electors convene and vote. Electors meet in December to vote for which candidate gets the states electoral votes. Electors meet in each state's capital and vote by paper ballot. Once the ballots have been tallied, the results are then endorsed, and copies are sent to officials. Those officials that will receive copies are the Vice President of the United States (since he/she is President of the Senate), the State secretary of each state will get a copy of its states votes, the archivist of the United States, and the judge of the Federal district court of the state's district where the electors met (How the electoral college system works, 2017). The consequences of using an Electoral College system versus a popular vote is that a person who gets the most popular vote does not win the presidency. Some refer to this as an election inversion. An election inversion is when a candidate wins the popular vote but does not get enough votes from the Electoral College. In the 243year history of the United States, there has only been an election inversion four times. The first one occurred in 1876 when Rutherford Hayes won 185 electoral votes and his opponent Samuel Tilden won the popular vote, but only had 184 electoral votes (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). Due to this election inversion, the U.S. Congress created the Electoral Commission on January 29, 1877. This commission was set up to break the deadlock of the 1876 election. It was to be comprised of five members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Supreme Court (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). Twelve years later, the country saw another election inversion in

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1888 when Benjamin Harrison ran against the incumbent Grover Cleveland. Again, the candidate that won the popular vote did not receive enough electoral votes to win the presidency (Pallardy, 2019). For the next one hundred and twelve years, the U.S. did not have an election inversion until the election of 2000. In this election, George W. Bush ran against Vice-President Al Gore, again the person winning the popular vote did not get enough electoral votes to win the presidency. It should be noted that one Gore elector from D.C. abstained from casting their electoral vote (Levy, 2019). Many issues within this election contributed to this election inversion. From votes not being counted to votes not being punched all the way through on the ballot sheet (Levy, 2019). The election of 2016 had the same issue, where the popular vote candidate, this time Hillary Clinton did not get enough electoral votes to win. Instead, her opponent, Donald Trump lost the popular vote but had enough electoral votes to win the presidency. In all four election inversions, there is a theme that the republican candidate can win enough electoral votes but not the popular vote. Assess the Value of an Individual Citizen’s Vote Under the Electoral College System The United States still uses the Electoral college for its presidential elections today because it is the only way to keep a check and balance system in place on the United States election system. Many people forget that the United States is a representative republic based on Constitutional law not a true democracy like ancient Greece. The Electoral College also helps with keeping larger states like California and New York from dominating smaller states like Rhode Island. A popular vote also represents the passion of the people not a real reason for their vote. The Founders, especially James Madison discussed how the country’s passion could create factions out of passion not reason in The Federalist 10. Conclusion

ASSIGNMENT TITLE HERE While the Electoral College may have some faults, it is still the best way for a representative republic to elect its President. The Electoral College was the compromise that the Founders’ needed to make sure that the check and balances they wanted for the government would hold each branch accountable. Many would consider the popular vote to be a better way, those people do not consider that smaller states would not be fairly represented in electing the leader of the United States. Ove the 273 years the United States has been a country, only four times has she had an election inversion. The Electoral College maybe be unfair and outdated for some but is still the most effective way for every state to be heard in the election of its national leader.

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Electoral College Reform. (2017). Congressional Digest, 96(1), 8–32. Electoral College. (2018). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 1; How the Electoral College System Works. (2017). Congressional Digest, 96(1), 2–32. Levy, M. (2019, October 31). United States presidential election of 2000. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-2000 Pallardy, R. (2019, October 30). United States presidential election of 1888. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1888 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019, October 31). United States presidential election of 1876. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidentialelection-of-1876...