I am young, so my first time voting was in the 2008 presidential election. Before I joined this course, I did not have much knowledge about the government. Needless to say I was naive, because I did not think that what goes on in our government affected me as much as it does older persons. I have proven myself wrong and have found great interest in the electoral college. The electoral college system is a topic of great concern, and it is one that is discussed frequently.
I for one happen to find the electoral college system unfair and biased. During elections there are popular votes, which are the votes of the people, and there are the electoral votes which are the votes of the electors selected that are supposed to represent the people's choice of candidate. However, it does not always turn out that way, and in return causes an outrage. During the election period candidates encourage citizens to go out and vote for the candidate that they believe will listen to their issues, and once this is done then the electors are to vote. The electors are supposed to vote for the candidate they were chosen for at which the people voted for, but this does not always happen. Though electors are supposed to vote for a specific candidate they can vote for another one of their choice, because they are not obligated to do so. So therefore this could be a waste of votes, which would completely disregard the voice of the people.
An example of its unfairness is one of the well-known and contraversial presidency election of 2000, between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Candidate Al Gore won the popular vote by an outstanding margin, but candidate Bush, at the time won the electoral college by just won vote, awarding him as the President of the United States. This opinion based article from The New York Times explains how the electoral college came about and is unfair. I believe that the electoral college should be abolished because the people, also known as the governed are the voice of our country and have a say in how our government is ran, and that it meets the needs of the people as a whole.
I recently read one of my classmate’s bogs entitled “When Will Our Opinion Really Be Worth Something?” This editorial really intrigued me. My fellow classmate believes that the Electoral College System, currently employed by our Nation as a means of choosing our President, is unfair and biased. The current Electoral College System allows our nation to casts their votes for president in what is deemed by us as, “the popular vote.” This vote is then used to help ‘”instruct” the 538 total electors chosen from each state, who ultimately will cast their votes to choose our President. Whichever candidate receives 270 Electoral College votes, wins the election.
ReplyDeleteThe most common complaint by those individuals, including my classmate, who abhor the Electoral College, is that there is a chance the peoples’ voices will not be heard. A candidate can lose the popular vote and still win the overall election by winning the votes of the electors. This seems to be the only flaw most critics of the Electoral College can find with the current system. My classmate uses the example of the 2000 Presidential election to prove his point. In 2000, George W. Bush won the Presidency despite that fact that fellow candidate Al Gore won the popular vote. My classmate believes that this is reason enough to abolish the Electoral College. We as the “governed” have a voice in our country, and we have a right to say how it should be run. The fact that Bush won in 2000 means that our voices are not taken seriously enough.
I disagree! The Electoral College does allow every citizen in the U.S. the opportunity to express their wants and desires for our nation every single time they vote in a presidential election. We still have a voice. On top of that, it is a proven fact that since its establishment in Article II Section I of the Constitution, The Electoral College has only failed 3 times to elect a president that was not otherwise chosen by the people in the popular vote. It is put in place as a compromise between the larger states and the smaller states, as well as a good defense against a nation who is way uninvolved and unknowledgeable about our government today. It was stated in the opening paragraph of my classmate’s blog that they do not feel very knowledgeable about government. I myself do not feel very knowledgeable about our government. That is why I feel that the Electoral College works. It allows every person who so chooses to stand up and voice their opinion, while also allowing those more knowledgeable than us an opportunity to select a candidate who will meet the most needs for our nation. Small states get to stand up and voice their opinions as well. Without the Electoral College small states’ voices about government would never really be heard because the populations in larger states, like California, Texas, and New York will always win out. While I will agree that the Electoral College is not bulletproof and maybe concessions should be made, we cannot deny the fact that it is probably the most sound and successful tool our government employs today.