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Ever since its conception, the Electoral College has been the subject of much debate. Its ability to sway elections out of the hands of the people has always been a subject of controversy. When it was created, the whole point was that it would prevent the people from picking only the most popular candidate and make sure the president would be a person who actually fulfilled the qualifications of the office. Since then, it has been the focus of much debate as to whether or not it actually fulfills its intended purpose. Representative William Delahunt and Senator Richard Durbin are of the mindset that the Electoral College is no longer doing its job well enough to justify its usefulness, and as such, should be abolished. In support of the Electoral College are House resolutions adopted by the Virginia Legislature. These are laid before the senate in an attempt to convince the body that the Electoral College is still able to correctly perform its intended purpose, and, perhaps more importantly, its job is still required.

Delahunt brings legislation in favor of abolishing the Electoral College before the House of Representatives on the heels of the 2001 election, which President Bush won after losing the popular vote, but the Electoral College chose him to ascend to the office of president over his competitor. He starts off by making clear two things, first: that he wishes the President the best of luck regardless of the fact that he is of a different party, and second: that he in no way doubts the legality of the election and the way it took place. He takes issue with how one body can effectively render null the votes of 500,000 American citizens. He brings up how poorly the Electoral College is arranged. In...

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...d that the preservation of such a historically tested system as the Electoral College is within the best interests of the America and her citizens.

The Electoral College has and always will be a cause for great amounts of controversy during our election process. There are many in opposition to, and many in favor of, this system that has withstood the test of time for 200 years. Like it or not, the Electoral College represents the will of the founders of our nation and shows their opinion on how they felt our government should operate. Even if the Electoral College should one day be abolished, it has left a significant impact upon our history as a nation, not only because of its ability to swing the elections to one side or the other when it is least expected, but also because of the sense of unity and oneness that such a system inevitably creates.

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