Electoral College 2 Essay, Research Paper
The Undisputable Necessity for the Electoral College
Criticism as to the relevancy of the Electoral College system used in our presidential elections has been around since the implementation of the system into our constitution. This criticism, however, is without true reason and common sense added into these assumptions. Most who criticize, possess not the slightest understanding of the true basis of its implementation and continued use throughout the history of our nation’s elections. The proposed amendment to the constitution that would eliminate the Electoral College system would cause the nation to be dependent on the popular vote system bringing problems to the election process. The Electoral College has been around since the foundation of the United States, gives added importance to minority groups in our elections, and poses less of a risk to the integrity of the election.
The idea of the Electoral College was implicated in Article 2 Section 1 of the original Constitution of the United States of America over 200 years ago. It allocated each state electors equal to the number of state representatives and senators within that state, which satisfied the demands of both large and small states. In over 40 presidential elections, this process has been utilized and brought forth many years of national harmony and unification behind one man who is elected to office. Due to the rather successful history of our country behind the electoral system, why should we risk losing this harmony over ill-advised criticism? The statistics show that the electoral system has been effective since its implementation and has given quick, and accurate results to our election for the president. “No election system is perfect, but the current system has borne the test of time.” (Time to Reform the Electoral College?, Section 3.) Scrutiny over this system has been at an all time high as of late, due to our current situation of a contested election by the democratic candidate. Due to a lack of funding, the Electoral College is not allotted the justification for the system that would be required to fully comprehend the validity of its existence. It even helps to protect the voice of its oppressors.
The minority population of the United States is growing at an exponential rate every year. Traditionally, the majority of the minority vote has been added into the democratic column in the elections. Ironically, it is the democratic influence that is pushing for the disenfranchisement of the Electoral College. What they fail to realize however is that by using the Electoral College in our presidential election, their voice as a whole is protected. Minority votes account for roughly 25% of the population of the United States. If we were to switch to a popular voting method, the majority, therefore causing their vote to be of less importance, would overshadow minority votes. In our current system a larger amount of electoral votes is awarded to the candidate who wins states such as California, New York, Texas, and Florida. By having a large population in these states, their votes combine to award the electoral votes to the candidate of their choice. ” even small minorities in a State may make the difference between winning all of that State’s electoral votes or none of that State’s electoral votes.” (The Electoral College, Section 12.) If a popular voting method were in place they would have less of a voice. It also helps to keep the risk factors at a minimum.
If our great nation were to adopt a direct election by popular vote, it would leave the country in utter disarray. “The Electoral College vote tends to be less in doubt than the popular electoral vote, for two reasons: Only a few states will have close races, even if the national vote is close, and he electoral vote tends to magnify the margin of the victor.” (EC Webzine Section 5.) If the election were to go to a popular vote, the already tedious task of tallying the vote would become even more difficult. Instead of stopping the count when a winner is almost certain, every vote in the country must be counted. If there was a very close race, there would be no way to determine which states should be recounted because they would all be tallied up together. There is also a problem with the time it would take to perform the counting of the ballots and the allotted time in order to have results certified. By law, the ballots must have a final certification within 30 days of the election and the counting of the ballots would take much more than this time.
As you can very well see, the accurate and time-honored tradition of utilization of the Electoral College should not be eliminated or altered. It has served our country for countless years, and provides a method of voting that has fewer risks and protects the minorities. It has gone over 200 years providing our country with quick and accurate results to our presidential election, and has provided harmony amongst the parties, and in no way should be altered due to an uneducated decision.