The electors in each state are equal to the number of representatives that state has in Congress resulting in at least three electors per state regardless of population (McKenzie 285). Each state has two votes to correspond to the senators representing that state in Congress, and then each state has one vote to correspond to the House representative that represents that state in Congress. Smaller states comprise a higher percentage of the total electoral votes than would a popular vote for the president in those states (Muller 1257). The Founders intended the Electoral College to protect overshadowing the small states’ interests of the larger populous states by allowing at least three representative votes rather than none at all, and the smaller states were not willing to give control of the election process to the larger states, which was similar to their fight for representation in Congress (Muller 1250). However, it ignores the people who voted against the winner, since once the result is determined at the state level; the losing voters no longer have any significance nationally (Wagner 579). Wagner also points to the fact that the winner-take-all system can lead to selecting the minority candidate over the majority vote, as in the George
The Electoral College was a compromise between those at the Constitutional Convention who wanted the US president elected by popular vote and those who wanted congress to select the president. They believed that having it where each state would get a certain number of votes based on population would keep a manipulative and charming person out of office. They thought it would prevent bribery and corruption along with secret dealings. I don’t think that this is the case and it one of the reason I feel that the Electoral College should be abolished.
It states that “each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress” (US Const. Art. II, sec. 1). The number of electors the each state receives is equal to the combined total of its Senate membership and House of Representatives delegation. By combining both the Senate and the Houses of Representatives, that Founding Fathers made it so that smaller states would not be forgot, while insuring that states with a larger population would have a larger say in the election. The 23rd Amendment, ratified on March 29, 1961, provides an additional three electors to the District of Columbia. Currently there are a total of 538 electors, corresponding to the 435 representatives and 100 senators, plus the three electors the District of Columbia is provided. The number of electoral votes in each state ranges from three to fifty-four for California, the most populous state. The total number of electors each state gets are adjusted following each decennial census in a process called reapportionment, which reallocates the number of Members of the House of Representatives to reflect changing rates of population growth (or decline) among the
One of the main reasons is that America today is vastly different than when the Electoral College was created. There are a lot more states, a lot more voters, and citizens nowadays somewhat have the necessary education and/or access to information to make better-informed decisions. Some states are grossly overrepresented in the Electoral College, leaving the votes of some citizens counting more higher then other votes. In Electoral College a candidate could still be elected to be president even without winning the popular vote. It also reinforces the two party system leaving voters to pick from the lesser of two evils and alienating the chance for a third party system from
This was created as a form of compromise between the opposing ideas of how the President should be elected. The Electoral College is comprised of electoral voters by a total of 538 electors. This number comes from the number of representatives in congress for each state, 1 for each member in the House of Representatives and 2 for the senate plus 3 more voters in the District of Columbia. This means that the total eligible voting population in the United States is represented by 538 votes to elect their leader. This dilutes the representation of each citizen to the majority in its area, which is unjust and unfair for the minority, which should still be able to voice their opinion and let their voice be heard. The Electoral College was put in place because it was believed a popular vote gave too much power to high-populated areas. How is that different from creating representation in the Electoral College based on the representatives in Congress, since the House of Representatives is also based on population? Signifying that the population still has an effect on how the President is elected. Another view is that not every citizen, at the time white male, was knowledgeable enough to elect the Head of State without the Electoral system. This, even though some might still agree with that previous notion, should not be the basis why the Citizens of the “free world” do not hold the equal power in electing their
The Electoral College can be considered one of the more misunderstood parts of our government. People have many misconceptions on how it works, at least I did until I took this class. When the Framers were developing how their new government was going to work, they ran into many problems. One of those problems was they has different ideas on how the president and vice president were to be elected. Some wanted to elect them like they do in Great Brittan with the parliament electing the prime minister. Others disagreed. The compromise was the creation of what we now call the Electoral College.
To date there are 538 members of the Electoral College. When the number of members is broken down, it reveals that there are 435 members of the House of Representatives along with 100 members of the Senate, in addition, there are three electors for Washington, D.C., as granted in the 23rd Amendment. The function of the electoral college is to represent the people residing in each individual state and cast the electoral votes in the election of the President and Vice president of the United States. Each state is provided a minimum of three electors, so states with larger populations have fewer electors proportionally. With 538 Electoral College votes available for each candidate to win, a candidate must obtain at least 270 to win the election (Patterson, 2013).
With the Electoral College in place, the United States remains a true Representative Democracy. By having electors, who are nominated to cast their vote for the president, the nation distances itself from a Direct Democracy (Longley). While creating the nation, many people believe the founders were strictly concerned with power to the citizens. However, they truly did not give the people much “political credit” (Longley). In fact, the “framers expressly ejected” the idea of popular vote, and felt using state electors was the only fair method of electing the president (Gringer 2008). They also understood “it would be unlikely for a candidate to have a nationwide presence among the people” (Patel, 2012) Delegate Elbridge Gerry believed a plan using popular vote was “radically vicious” and feared that the “people are uninformed, and would be misled by a few designing men” (Gerry 1787). They framers understood many people do not have a lot of information on, or background in politi...
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was dominated by political compromise. It was hard trying to come up with a way to keep all states happy and be fair in electing a president. One option was to let the state legislate decide but this was overruled. But they knew they couldn't let the people really decide because most were farmers and peasants and so they came up with a plan to decide by giving each state electoral votes based on their state population which at the time worked out well. Now however in present times it doesn’t work because too much power is given to very few states for example 6 states decide the president of The United States because their population is so big they get more electoral votes.
The Electoral College was created by the framers at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. They believe that it wasn’t a good idea for the people to elect the president directly because they did not trust that voters would have enough information to make a good choice. The Electoral College basically chooses who the next president will be since it takes away our freedom to vote away. The Electoral College should be abolished because it’s undemocratic, the small states are overrepresented, and it hurts third parties.
The Electoral College is a system of 538 directly elected “electors”, or government officials, who serve the people. “The number 538 is the sum of the nation’s 435 Representatives, 100 Senators, and 3 electors given to the District of Columbia.”, according to
The Electoral College plays a critical role in the election of the President of the United States of America. First introduced in 1787, the founding fathers implemented this system as a way to ensure a more efficient voting process (Soros). During this time the Electoral College did serve a noble purpose and in fact, was the most efficient way of voting in a time when mass transportation and technology did not exist. By participating in this process, townships were able to send a representative to cast a collective vote for that area. The modern Electoral College still operates in a similar fashion and yet, fails to serve a modern-day purpose. It challenges the democratic principles which the United States was founded on and may even operate illegally. Today, “forty-eight of the fifty states appoint (their) electors through a "winner take all" method of election” which is “not simply undemocratic, but potentially illegal...
The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors which represents the voting membership of both houses of congress (535) and 3 additional electors to represent Washington D.C (Neale, 2004) . Each state is allocated electoral votes according to their representation of members in both houses of congress, giving electoral college ...
The Electoral College is the name for the electors who nominally choose the president and vice president of the United States. Each of the states receives a certain number of electors, which is determined by the total number of senators and representatives it sends to the U.S. Congress. Therefore, each state has at least 3 electors. The Electoral College was devised by the Framers of the Constitution as a procedure to elect the president by the people, at least indirectly. The framers came up with this procedure for many reasons. Such reasons included the lack of information to make a good choice by the people and it was also a way to control the power of the people. Although the Electoral College is still used today, it has undergone several changes and still contains certain weaknesses.
Imagine if there was a group of people that all brought in money to buy pizza, but only the person that brought in the most money got to eat the pizza. This is sort of how our electoral college works. Everybody votes but only the votes that get the majority actually count and mean something while the votes for the other person running are basically thrown away. The electoral college should be abolished because it takes away the basic rule of our country that majority vote wins and it makes people feel like their votes mean less because the candidates are only focused on a very minimal amount of states that they need to get to win and finally it gives big cities all of the power.The electoral college was formed in 1788. It was made to give the smaller states equal power. Multiple canidates that have run for president have lost because of this system.