The United States should abolish the Electoral College. The Electoral College is unfair and has multiple negative effects on the election process.
The first problem is that the Electoral College forces candidates to put all their focus toward swing states. This means that issues important to citizens in non-swing states won’t be considered in the candidates’ platforms. It also gives citizens in swing states an unfair advantage. The second problem that the Electoral College causes is that it can result in the wrong person being elected! For example in 2000 Al Gore received the most votes yet because of the Electoral College George W. Bush was given the presidency. Another big problem is that voters in smaller states have a greater influence than voters in large states due to the 2 vote minimum given to each state in the Electoral College. This means that smaller states get more votes per capita than large states, which is clearly unfair.
The final issue that the Electoral College causes is that it is impossible for a third party to gain recognition. Because you have to get the most votes in the state to get the votes in the Electoral College you have to have close to 50% of the vote in a state. Yet even the most popular third party candidates get over 30% in a state and so they get no recognition. If the Electoral College was abolished then a third party could potentially get 30% of the national vote and this would be an indicator of success and give it potential to maybe get 35% or 40% in the next election so that over time a third party could win.
If the Electoral College is continued these issues will not go away. In fact things will only become worse. In fact recently people have stopped voting in large numbers because they know that the candidate they don’t support will win no matter if they vote since most people in the state support that candidate. Although it has its problems they aren’t big enough to stir the public to support a constitutional amendment and so the Electoral College is probably here to stay.
2 comments:
Goodbye and Good Riddance!
In one of my colleagues recent posts, The Electoral College Needs To Go!, he explains how the Electoral College has a multitude of negative effects on the election process.
I completely agree with this view. He talks about how the Electoral College forces candidates to tend to the issues of the citizens in swing states over issues of citizens elsewhere. Candidates in presidential elections have spent too much time and money to not foremost address the swing states issues. They have entered the election to win and if they don't convince the swing states then they are drastically cutting their chances for success. Also, he states that the 2 vote minimum to each state in the Electoral College means that smaller states get more votes per capita.
Shouldn't these elections be a equal representation of the citizens wants and needs? Looks like if you come from a small swing state, you're in good shape. But what does that mean for the rest of the population? That your votes and issues are just not as important?
He also addresses the issue that 3rd party candidates will never get a shot with the Electoral College around. If these candidates cant win close to a majority in any given state, the Electoral College gives them no recognition. The people who vote for these candidates are even discouraged from voting because they know the 3rd party will never prevail. This makes it hard to get a good read on whether or not a 3rd party candidate would have stood a chance or not without the Electoral College.
The is by far an issue of equality and it is putting a damper on what candidates focus on for the good of winning the election. I feel that every american deserves a fair vote and their issues should be addressed with the same seriousness. Without equality, you don't represent what America stands for.
The Electoral College Needs To GO!
I'd like to start by saying that this is a thought that should scare you. If there wasn't an Electoral College, the smaller, less populated states would more than likely lose their voice. No on would care for them. Major politicians wouldn't give a hoot about the 'little people' in the small states because they wouldn't really need their votes in the end.
There would also be a chance that our nation's leader could be chosen by one person. It could be anyone, and it would more than likely be some one that's not as smart as the next person because the smarter people have already gone & given their vote. So the next president could be chosen by that crazy guy next door that talks to his cats. Then there would be a whole issue on whether people that are diagnosed with mental disabilities should be able to vote, with the chance that the votes are tied & it relies on one person & that person ends up being crazy.
The Bush/Gore election was also mentioned. You want to know how may times that has happened in the more than two-hundred years that this country has been alive has the popular vote not won. Twice, and that just means our system is working. In American Idol ( I think I am required as a teenager to make at least one pop culture reference) there was a situation where by some error an untalented singer was chosen and people got together and kept voting for him in spite for the show. Who says America wouldn't do the same in the situation where the people were given the power to tip the polls like that? It is after all American Idol. I think it's somewhat of a naive thought to think that something like that wouldn't happen under those circumstances.
To conclude, I think that if we got rid of the electoral college it would do harm to the people, future & government.
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