Do you thing the electoral college system should be kept or abolished. explain why or why not.?

Question

we had a discussion in history class about it and i keep thinking about it and if it should be kept or not. so give me your reason why you think it should be kept or abolished. i wanna know what other ppeople think too.

Answer 1

It will and should be kept. The United States is not a Democracy, it is a Representative Republic. If you don't understand the difference, then you really need to do more studying.

The Founders strove to limit the Federal government. They understood that the State governments were better suited to meeting the day to day needs of the citizens. With that in mind, they split the Federal government so that each part had to answer to a different constituency.

The members of the House of Representatives have always been selected by direct election. They, are the voice of the people. Representatives are apportioned according to population, so the vote of each citizen carries equal weight in selecting Representatives.

Until 1913, Senators were not elected by the general population, they were appointed by the State Legislatures. The State governments were their constituency, and they were the guardians that prevented runaway growth at the Federal level, including unfunded mandates and entitlements. Each State is represented equally in the Senate, with two Senators each.

The Executive, (the President) must act on behalf of both constituencies, so the Electoral College blends the two of them together. The number of votes that each State receives in the Electoral College is equal to the number of representatives it has in the House, PLUS the number of Senators in the Senate.

All votes count, and anyone who claims otherwise is either stupid or lying. Each State decides how to choose it's Electors. They COULD just send their Congressmen and Senators. They COULD just pick the first X number of people in the phone book named Bob. As it happens, all states allow their citizens to vote for electors pledged to one candidate or another. Most States have a "winner take all" system, because it raises the importance of that State in the election, and induces the candidates to promise things of benefit to them. Within your State though, every vote counts towards picking a slate of Electors.

2000 was not the first time the winner of the popular vote lost in the Electoral College. In 1960 the Republican Richard Nixon won the popular vote, but lost the election to the Democrat John F, Kennedy.

In the Florida controversy of 2000, what was at issue was a State law that required the results to be certified within 30 days. The Florida State Legislature established this law to insure that a slate of Electors was chosen in time for Florida to be included in the Electoral College. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the law was invalid because completing a massive recount was more important. The U.S. Supreme Court then ruled that the Florida Supreme court did not have the authority to throw out that law. The U.S. Supreme Court never "selected" George W. Bush, but their decision effectively ended the recount. The recount was eventually performed, and had the recount requested by the Gore campaign been completed, Bush would have still won in Florida, and the same Electors would have been chosen, with the same result.

Answer 2

It should be abolished The popular vote should be what decides the election not the electoral college. More than one presidential candidate has won the popular vote only to lose the electoral vote and hence the election. The electoral college is a part of a system that is outdated and is no longer needed Let the people and only the people decide by majority vote who their leader should be.

Answer 3

the electoral college should be abolished it no longer serves the correct purpose. new york and california may have more people but I really dont believe that 2 states has more people than the other 48 states. To make it fair presidential elections should be decided by popular vote. then, and only then would your vote count. There should also be a massive move by the people agains paperless ballots or at least the present voting machines should have a paper trail. There is no way to verify the results. get away from the hanging chad but back the new voting machines up with printouts so the casted vote can be verified. The electors in a given state should be mandated by law to vote the will of the people of that state and not go against it as kathryn harris stated they would do in the presidential election of 2000. her words and I quote "irregardless to the outcome of the recount with regards to popular vote, the florida electors will cast their votes for gw bush." as a florida voter I realized then that my one vote no longer counted!

Answer 4

I personally believe, the electoral college does not really represent the real vote of the people. Some States have to much influence, especially in the Presidential Election. I would like to see it go. The only problem without the electoral college, we must have a highly accurate and triple secure voting system, to avoid voter fraud.

Answer 5

The electoral college gives different ideas in elections. Without it the president would always be elected by people in large cities and small town people and farmers would have nothing to say about government

Answer 6

Jay S has spoken. If the president was elected by popular vote only, it would be pretty much New York and California electing the presidents. I shudder the thought.

Answer 7

The electoral college should only be used if the liberal candidate is going to win, but if the liberal candidate is going to loose then the popular vote should be used, just ask Al Gore.

Answer 8

Abolished. I want my vote to count!

Answer 9

abolished it is time to go on popular vote only, it no longer serves a pourpose

Answer 10

Abolished IMMEDIATELY!
If we are to be a true democracy, we must have "one person = one vote"!