Electoral College Reform Essay
?Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes,? (Benjamin Franklin, Letter to M. Leroy, 1789).The Electoral College was designed to provide a method of presidential selection for a form of government that combined a ?fragile federal union with republican principles? (Congressional Quarterly Inc.). This was a time of considerable rivalry and distrust among the states, a lack of a national communication system, and bad memories of abuse of executive power. The Electoral College was the result of a compromise between large and small states and the nationalists and federalists. This plan was brought about to ensure that the most qualified person, not necessarily the most popular, would be selected by groups of electors, representing their states but also expressing their personal convictions. However, the development of the party system, which led to the direct election of states of partisan electors, permanently altered the original plan and created a party-based, plurality-rule system in which electoral votes were allocated by states on a winner-take-all basis. The major consequences of such
I feel that our two hundred and twelve year old system for choosing the president is anachronistic and anti-democratic; a change in it is long over-due. The best strategy for getting a revision is to test out a new system on a smaller basis, and if people like it, it will spread and eventually become our new national policy. At that time it would have become an amendment. But no matter how change comes about, there is only one way to get that change. It is to get involved. Every American that believes who the presidential election system is wrong needs to speak up and get it changed. The Electoral College stands in the way of a democratic presidential election. In a democracy, all votes are equal, but in the Electoral College all voters are not equally represented. In a democracy, the plurality rules, but in the Electoral College it may not. The larger the turnout the greater the directive, and the more likely elected officials will be responsive to a broader diversity of electorate. Not only does the Electoral College lack turnout incentives for the less competitive states, but also confuses the president?s electoral voting body and makes its conversion into a governing coalition that much more difficult. Finally, if the Electoral College was to deadlock, and no presidential candidate held a majority, then the election woul
Some common words found in the essay are:
Electoral College, Electoral Vote, House Representatives, Quarterly Inc, electoral college, , electoral votes, Letter Leroy, popular vote, candidate receives, vote candidate, vote candidate receives, require electors vote, hold majority, popular election, require electors, presidential election, electors vote, electoral votes allocated,
Approximate Word count = 906
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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