The Electoral College

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Is it possible for a presidential candidate to receive the most popular votes and still not be elected president? Many Americans are shocked to discover that the answer to this question is yes. The Founding Fathers were not the strong advocates of democratic rule that the average American has been led to believe. For proof of this one needs to look no further than Article II of the United States Constitution. In Article II one will find the details of the Electoral College system, a system which denies the power to elect the president to the American people. (The Constitution) The Electoral College is an outmoded system which denies the American people the right to elect their president democratically and should be abolished and replaced with a more democratic system based on the popular vote.

Although not common knowledge among the American electorate, presidential elections in the United States are indirect popular elections. Even though voters cast their ballots for the presidential candidate, they are really voting for a group of electors who pledge to vote for a particular candidate. (Project Vote Smart) This group known as the Electoral College is made up of 538 citizens who are responsible for voting on behalf of their states and it is this group that actually chooses the president. The number of electoral votes is based on the number of U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives found in each state. (Electoral College) The presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes in a state receives all that state’s Electoral College

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votes. In order to be elected the presidential candidate must receive a majority of the 538 votes or 270 electoral votes. (Project Vote Smart)

On the surface this might a...

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...eye to the obvious fact that campaigning for president does not mean appealing to all Americans but only to those Americans who happen to live in

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states which in election after election have the power to determine the next president of the United States. The Electoral College contradicts the belief that every voter is important. Every elected office in the United States except the most important the President, is elected on the basis of individual votes. (The Electoral College) In poll after poll, the American people have expressed their desire to abandon the Electoral College system. (The Electoral College Code) It is time for American government to listen to the people. It is time to listen to the majority.

It is time for the United States to abandon an antiquated and undemocratic system. It is time to put the Electoral College to rest.

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