Why We Should Keep The Electoral College Essay

The Electoral College, a unique feature of the American political system, has been a subject of debate for centuries. While some argue for its abolition in favor of a popular vote system, there are compelling reasons why we should keep the Electoral College Essay intact.

Advocates of the institution point to the usefulness, longevity, and tradition of the Electoral College Essay as important qualities. The future of the essay is being discussed in the wake of the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections, when the winner of the popular vote lost the electoral college vote and the election. It is also believed that the Electoral College essay is an essential component of the checks and balances that underpin the American democratic system.

1. Maintain American Federalism

The fact that the Electoral College Essay process is essential to American federalist ideology is one of the main arguments in favor of keeping it. Federalism substitutes a weak central government for a distribution of authority among the federal, state, and local governments.

The United States Constitution stipulates the Electoral College Essay, but states retain the authority to choose how electors are chosen. Based on the results of each state’s popular vote, both major and small states have a role in each presidential election. Removing the Electoral College Essay would allow for reform in other institutions, according to Allen Guelzo’s argument in National Affairs.

The U.S. Senate, he argued, would be unnecessary since senators represent entire states rather than individual voters if federalism were up for examination. Additionally, Guelzo pointed out that while electoral votes provide units of influence in elections, state governments would lose their voice in matters of national policy. Removing the Electoral College Essay, according to Guelzo, would expose the US to unorganized elections in the manner of parliament.

2. Tradition Of Slow But Steady Institutions

Proponents of the Electoral College Essay refer back to the discussions over the new nation’s political procedures that took place during the Constitutional Conventions. States, according to Harvard Law Professor Charles Fried, serve as filters and diffusers in national politics. Voting blocs for elections by region fluctuate based on party positions and regional shifts. Rather than fluctuating from election to election, these changes become ingrained throughout several decades of elections.

According to Fried, the reason the Electoral College Essay has endured through political upheaval, the American Civil War, and other alterations is because it serves to uphold state interests and thwart radical movements. The U.S. government isn’t meant to operate swiftly, according to Guelzo, because of the checks and balances outlined in the Constitution.

To prevent their respective branches from gaining undue authority, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches go to considerable lengths. Six years is the term allotted to each U.S. senator, which gives them ample time to enact laws without constantly asking for permission. According to Guelzo, the purposeful structures that the country’s founders incorporated were meant to curb the initial tendency toward a disorganized and poorly functioning direct democracy.

3. Encourage National Campaigns

The existing electoral procedure is defended by supporters as compelling candidates to run really national campaigns. In a 2012 Slate piece, jurist Richard Posner discussed how the Electoral College chooses “everyone’s president.” According to him, the candidate with the most electoral votes cannot win enough states in one region to win the presidency. There is no need for voters in various areas to be concerned that their country’s head of state will be a candidate who exclusively addresses a select few states.

Posner also held the opinion that the Electoral College Essay compels parties and presidential candidates to broaden their appeal by running their campaigns in hotly contested states around the nation. In a paper, Senior Fellow Ronald Rotunda of the Cato Institute highlighted the power that the Electoral College Essay affords to ethnic minorities and small states.

With three electoral votes apiece, the District of Columbia and seven states have the ability to influence closely contested presidential elections. Rotunda contended that in the absence of the Electoral College essay, voters in these states would be unnoticed. Additionally, he said that because Black and Latino voters typically reside in large states with sizable electoral vote totals, national politicians pay attention to them.

4. Clear And Decisive Outcomes

In a 2008 MIT conference on the Electoral College Essay, SUNY Cortland Professor Judith Best said that a popular vote presidential election would create chaos due to a “50 Floridas” situation. Best referred to the contentious election deadlock that took place in Florida following the 2000 presidential election. Proponents of maintaining the Electoral College Essay often point to uncertainty surrounding lawsuits and recounts related to a popular vote model.

Posner concluded that electoral vote margins tend to exceed popular vote margins for winning presidential candidates. He said state voting blocs make ties rare and the popular vote remains an informal check on unpopular presidents. Posner also stated that a popular vote election would likely require a runoff mechanism in cases where no candidate receives a majority of votes. He cited the 1968 and 1992 elections as examples where the absence of a popular vote majority would lead to serious questions about the president’s mandate without the Electoral College Essay.

In keeping with Posner’s theme, Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute defended the Electoral College Essay as a tool for establishing presidential legitimacy. According to Wallison, electoral votes ensure that a majority wins every election, preventing any constitutional crises for the country. He pictured a situation in which separate issue parties filled the ballot and split the presidential vote in a popular vote system. Wallison came to the conclusion that the Electoral College Essay is a sophisticated fix for the legitimacy problem that doesn’t call for partisan bickering or constitutional revisions.

5. Pitfalls Of Popular Vote

Numerous defenses of the Electoral College Essay identify flaws in the case offered for elections decided by popular vote. Guelzo is one of many supporters who point out that the US is not a democracy but rather a constitutional republic. In addition, he refutes proponents of the idea of “one person, one vote” by pointing out that the idea originated with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling rather than a constitutional clause. In summary, proponents believe that, given the history of the nation, the Electoral College Essay is a valid method for selecting presidents.

In a 2004 essay, the Heritage Foundation made the case that the Electoral College acts as a barrier against fraud among other things. A tiny number of bogus votes under the current system have no bearing on the result of a presidential election. The Electoral College Essay disperses illegitimate votes throughout several states, preventing systemic fraud. This essay also stated that in the absence of the electoral vote filter, the space for litigation, recounts, and legitimacy disputes would grow.

In addition, Fried responded to those who oppose the Electoral College Essay and favor direct democratic presidential elections. He pointed out in the New York Times that state and local democratic processes in America are commensurate with the country’s democratic tendencies. State lawmakers, city council members, and school board members are chosen by the voters in each state. Supporters of the Electoral College Essay contend that the heart of federalism is the harmony between local direct democracy and a national voting block system.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the US Constitution specifies the procedure for the Electoral College. To alter the procedure, a constitutional amendment would be required. The Electoral College system allows a presidential candidate to win the presidency of the United States by winning a small number of crucial states, even if they lose the national popular vote. Did the founders of the Constitution, known as the Founding Fathers, fail to recognize that the Electoral College essentially removed the American people’s right to choose their president?

The states, not the people, were supposed to choose the president, as the Founders always intended. The Electoral College system, as established by Article II of the U.S. Constitution, gives the states the authority to choose their own president and vice president. The governors of the states are the highest-ranked U.S. officials designated by the Constitution and chosen directly by the people.