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Purpose of the Essay
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role of Electoral College in the electoral process of the US, and take a position on whether the abolishment or reforms are needed to make the electoral system of the country flawless and representative of the popular vote.
The Electoral College
The Electoral College was established as part of the constitution by the founding fathers of the country. It was established to create a balance between the democratic power of qualified citizens and the authority granted to the electors representing their respective states. The electors’ votes are also representative of the democratic power of people belonging to the related states, however, indirectly ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"u4qydf4c","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Webster)","plainCitation":"(Webster)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":81,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/M5E3E2RL"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/M5E3E2RL"],"itemData":{"id":81,"type":"article-journal","title":"The Purpose, Structure and Limitations of the Electoral College","container-title":"The Geography Teacher","page":"101-105","volume":"13","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Webster","given":"Gerald R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Webster). The Electoral College is not a place or building; it is an institution that was meant for creating a compromise in powers to realize democracy in its most complete form. It is a process as well that comprises selecting the electors, making arrangements for casting votes in favor of the President of the Vice President, and finally counting of votes by Congress to declare the ultimate winner.
The number of electors in the Electoral College is 538. A candidate has to win at least 270 votes to be elected as the President. The selection of electors is done through the convention systems of respective political parties. The number of electoral votes of Washington in the Electoral College is 12. This is because Washington has ten representatives in the House of Representatives of the US, and two senators. Similarly, every state has the same number of electors as it has the members in Congress, with two senators additionally.
The presidential elections are held every four years. Voting for a candidate in election means voting for the President. When people vote for their favorite candidate, they are voting for the elector associated with the candidate. This elector will finally have an impact on choosing the President. The certificate of Ascertainment is an official document that is issued by the governor of the state after the presidential election. It enlists the names of all candidates as well as their respective electors who have supported the President in elections. These electors meet in December of the presidential elections in their states where they vote for President and Vice president. The electoral votes are counted in a Congress session in the following month of January. The official tally of electoral votes takes place at the House Chamber by members of the House as well as Senate.
Pros and Cons of the Electoral College
The role of the Electoral College has been debated over by many critiques, politicians, and common people. It has occurred five times in the history of the US that the Electoral College changed the winning position of a candidate who had a lead in the elections voted by the public. In 2000’s presidential elections, Al Gore had won more votes in the general elections. However, George W. Bush beat him by securing a clear lead in the electoral votes. A similar thing happened in 2016's elections when trump won by 74 electoral votes and Hillary Clinton had a defeat in spite of getting a mandate of 2.8 million votes of the public. Therefore, in this perspective, it becomes necessary to think over the pros and cons of the Electoral College whether it is inevitable for the sake of democratic rule or not, whether it needs reforms to improve the electoral process or not, and so on.
Pros
The Electoral College has a long tradition in the history of the country. The founding fathers of the nation have established it to make things fair and balance the opposing powers. They founded it because they thought it the best way to make democracy rule. The electoral college was founded to ensure that the government should be made by the votes of qualified voters. The votes of electors were thought to nullify the effect of those voters who are deemed unaware of political thought and insight. The electoral process is meant to ensure that the most capable person should be elected to govern people. Therefore, eliminating the electors’ vote would possibly end in concentrating all power in the hands of common people who are and are not liable to make mistake in making the most important decision in the country’s affairs.
The electors' vote reflects the consent of the whole state in the electoral process. The opinion of an elector is representative of the state, and it ensures that the people of the state back the vote of that elector. This process is thought to guarantee the involvement of all states in forming the government. Since electors come from all states or regions of the country, they guarantee representation of all groups of people of the country, including people with low wages or social status.
The Electoral College makes the results of elections certain and declares a firm decision about the election's outcome. A winner by popular votes may lose against the electoral votes. However, it happened only five times in the long history of the country. When Barrack Obama succeeded popular votes, his Electoral College victory superseded his victory in general elections. This means the electoral votes usually reinforce the popular votes of people, only strengthening the decision about President’s election ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"s66E7eNz","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Blais et al.)","plainCitation":"(Blais et al.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":78,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/HKKJK6M7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/HKKJK6M7"],"itemData":{"id":78,"type":"article-journal","title":"Electoral and Party Systems","container-title":"The United States and Canada: How Two Democracies Differ and Why It Matters","page":"48","author":[{"family":"Blais","given":"André"},{"family":"Bowler","given":"Shaun"},{"family":"Grofman","given":"Bernard"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Blais et al.).
Cons
The critiques hold the opinion that the Electoral College is not supported by the justifications that held fast in the era of founding fathers. People can get awareness and necessary information about any political party through modern communication channels and tools. The Internet has made it accessible for all users to know about any issue relevant to them. The thinkers who hold opposing opinions to the Electoral College say that it can be abolished making the necessary amendments in the constitution. They further claim that the abolition of this process should not be repented for any reason. Many reformatory amendments have been made to the constitution, and this change should also be considered a normal improvement in the political system.
The Electoral College accumulates power within a few states that decide the fortune of the country ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"RLmbj76H","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Stonecash)","plainCitation":"(Stonecash)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":79,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/THZ7IMLT"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/THZ7IMLT"],"itemData":{"id":79,"type":"chapter","title":"The Electoral College and Democratic Responsiveness","container-title":"Electoral College Reform","publisher":"Routledge","page":"87-98","author":[{"family":"Stonecash","given":"Jeffrey M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Stonecash). History has evidence that only a few states play the dominating role in the electoral process, as it is obvious in the Trump-Hillary elections of 2016, when the political battle was fought only in eleven states predominantly.
The popular vote seems to lose its weightage in the election. No matter how much is said in support of the electoral vote to represent all states, the main purpose of democracy is deemed to be unattained in presence of the Electoral College.
Suggestions to Improve the Electoral College
The Electoral College has proven an important institution or process under the constitution, as it is evident from the above description. Therefore, the idea of abolishing the Electoral College is not reasonable. However, certain reforms are also inevitable to be made so that the electoral process becomes more credible.
The most important amendment to be made to the Electoral College system is that the electoral votes of a state must not be given to a candidate who does not have a majority win in the popular votes of the state ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"uo1BpvWK","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bugh)","plainCitation":"(Bugh)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":77,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/XNC5LCXD"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/XNC5LCXD"],"itemData":{"id":77,"type":"book","title":"Electoral College Reform: Challenges and Possibilities","publisher":"Routledge","ISBN":"1-317-14527-5","author":[{"family":"Bugh","given":"Gary"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Bugh). This amendment will reinforce the public opinion and the weightage of popular vote will not decrease.
Another reform essential and workable is that every district in the state should be allocated one electoral vote and the winner in every district will get this electoral vote ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"zY5XjdWF","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Streb)","plainCitation":"(Streb)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":80,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/IZJFJPIT"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/wreEcalP/items/IZJFJPIT"],"itemData":{"id":80,"type":"book","title":"Rethinking American electoral democracy","publisher":"Routledge","ISBN":"1-315-72072-8","author":[{"family":"Streb","given":"Matthew J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Streb). Further, the winner in the state will get two electoral votes reserved for the state-wide winner.
Works Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Blais, André, et al. “Electoral and Party Systems.” The United States and Canada: How Two Democracies Differ and Why It Matters, 2019, p. 48.
Bugh, Gary. Electoral College Reform: Challenges and Possibilities. Routledge, 2016.
Stonecash, Jeffrey M. “The Electoral College and Democratic Responsiveness.” Electoral College Reform, Routledge, 2016, pp. 87–98.
Streb, Matthew J. Rethinking American Electoral Democracy. Routledge, 2015.
Webster, Gerald R. “The Purpose, Structure and Limitations of the Electoral College.” The Geography Teacher, vol. 13, no. 3, 2016, pp. 101–05.
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