electoral college?

Question

why was it created? how does it work? what are its strengths and weaknesses? should it be continued? why?

Answer 1

What is the Electoral College?

Often misunderstood today, the Electoral College was established early in our country’s history and continues to play an important role in the American political process. Although the name suggests ivy-covered walls and classrooms filled with books, the Electoral College is responsible for formally selecting the next president and vice president of the United States.



On the evening of Tuesday, November 2, most Americans will be watching the televised results of the 2004 Presidential Election. But even after the final votes are tallied and the winner is announced, our choice for president and vice president is not official until the Electoral College casts its votes December 13.



The Electoral College is comprised of 538 people, known as electors, chosen nationwide to meet in their home states and cast one vote per person for president and vice president. Michigan has 17 electors to reflect the number of senators and representatives it has in the U.S. Congress. Presidential candidates on the Michigan ballot submit a list of 17 qualified electors to the Secretary of State’s Office. The 17 electors whose candidate wins Michigan’s popular vote will participate in the Electoral College at the State Capitol in December.



Electors pledge to support the candidate they represent and may not vote otherwise. Michigan voters can be assured that all 17 Michigan electoral votes automatically go to the presidential candidate winning the popular vote.



Most states distribute their Electoral College votes in the same "winner takes all" fashion as Michigan. However two states, Maine and Nebraska, apportion their electoral votes by congressional district.



To be elected president, a candidate must receive at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes cast nationwide. If no candidate receives 270 votes, the final decision is made by the U.S. House of Representatives. Only two American presidents have been chosen by the U.S. House of Representatives because they lacked enough Electoral College votes. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and, in 1824, John Quincy Adams both took office after the election was sent to the House of Representatives.



To understand why the Electoral College, and not the people, ultimately determines who is president requires a brief look into our country’s turbulent beginnings. The Electoral College was written into the U.S. Constitution in 1787, a time when our nation was new and still struggling in many ways, including politically. Of primary concern was the possibility of a nationwide election breaking down into chaos and confusion.



To counter the politically volatile environment of the late 18th century, the Electoral College was established to balance the state’s and people’s interests. The idea of mass communication and the dominant two-party political system we take for granted today could never have been anticipated by our country’s first leaders as they wrestled with the problems of the early republic.



Our country was founded on the principle of government of the people, by the people and for the people. Voting is one of this country’s most cherished rights. Our political system, including the Electoral College, is designed to ensure the full realization of this fundamental principle.

atp

Answer 2

(Copies, Pastes old answer. Since we get one of these every day)

Pro: The Founders of this nation had a justified fear of complete democracy. They set up a system where supposedly wise men, elected by the people, and holding no other office at the time, would chose a President. They knew "There's a sucker born every minute". They made sure that there was an insulating layer of responsible people between the voter and the presidency. Thus there is some protection from the lies and deceit that went on during election season, then just as it does now.

Con:
1. Those who failed their civics classes, or who have never received any instruction in our system of government, continue to complain and question the Electoral College. This makes the sheep easily identified and led by the barking dogs.

2. Those who wish to take advantage of the gullibility of the average voter would like to do away with the Electoral College, in order to make their nonsense campaigns more effective.

Although the Electors of most states are "pledged" to vote for the winner in that state, and most face criminal penalties for breaking that pledge, there may come a time when the Electoral College is forced to muster its courage and go against the vote. This could happen in a scenario where massive fraud or corruption is found between the national election day and the balloting of the Electoral College. This could happen and is what was intended by the founders of this nation.

Answer 3

The Electoral College is antiquated and anti-democratic. Each citizen should have the right to vote for the president and each citizen’s vote should count equally, no matter where that voter lives. The Electoral College system adds an additional layer to the voting process and causes more problems than it addresses. The arguments concerning the influence of bigger or smaller states are unavailing. The president is not president of 50 states but, rather, is president of 300 million people. The people should decide who their president will be.

You can find detailed information concerning the operation of and the history of the electoral college at the US National Archives and Records Administration Electoral College website:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/index.html .

Answer 4

the electoral college was created by the founding fathers because they believed that the "common" man would not have the mental acuity to vote for the president.

Each state gets a number of votes equal to the number of House of Representatives and Senators with which to cast for a candidate. It is up to each individual state to determine how those votes are distributed. Most states use the winner takes all the votes for the state.

Strengths are that the heavily populated states don't completely override the less populated states. The weakness is that it is not one person one vote because if you vote for the losing party and your state is a winner take all then your vote doesn't count.

Yes the electoral college should be continued because otherwise the large metropolitan areas would be the battleground for the election. (Gore won the popular vote by carrying the major metropolitan areas).

Answer 5

Ok, so the electoral college are basically a group of randomly selected people ( I'm not sure what kind of people). BUt anyway, they are made to vote for the president. You see, when we vote, we just vote to tell our electoral college who we want. We bascially are encouraging these electoral people to vote the person we want, but they don't always have too. Who ever they vote for they give the nominees for the election their states electoral votes, which are based upon the states' population. SO for a president, for instance, to win needs a lot of electoral votes. Now, the college was made by WAshington as a kind of checks and balance to help in the democratic process. It can be useful, however it can help make a man who wasn't voted by majority of the country our president, ie George W. Bush. Whether or not it should be continued is the government's job to figure out. However, the college has been used for hundreds of years.

Answer 6

The founding fathers wanted the less populated states to have fair representation in choosing the President. Without it, the President would be elected by New York, California and Texas in a popular vote. The electoral college method makes candidates appeal to a wide range of people.

Answer 7

Homework?
The College was created in the Constitution to elect the federal positions of President and Vice President. This was because at the time we could not hold elections count votes and get them tallied in any reasonable time, as well as campaign. Today we do have the ability to count votes, tally them, and campaign the entire country in mater of seconds, with computers and TV.
It is time we force a law to eliminate the electoral college and allow the people to elect.

Answer 8

The electoral college was created to allow each state to have equal vote carrying, as compared to other states, regardless of their actual population.

Answer 9

Pretty much what DC said but the electoral college is picked by each of the candidates.

Answer 10

I don't know much about it, but it's basically why Bush beat Gore in the 2000 elections. Al Gore got the most votes from average voters (popular vote), but Bush won by electoral votes.

It's not a good system, because it takes power away from the voters. There's a wikipedia article that I found, which explains all about how it works.