POLI 330N Week 4 Assignment; Electoral college- good or bad

Electoral college - good or bad? Electoral college - good or bad? By: Student Name Week 4 Assignment What is the Electoral College? Consists of 538 electors Process, not a place. Established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution as a compromise between the election of the President by congressional vote and by a popular vote (2019). Process includes selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. Electors are individuals selected in each state to officially cast that state’s electoral votes. Electoral Votes When you vote for the President, you are actually voting for an ELECTOR to vote for you. 538 electors = 538 electoral votes A majority of 270 electoral votes = election of the President Electoral votes within each State: Two votes for each senator (two senators) + # of votes equal to # of Congressional districts (representatives) “winner-take-all policy”- In order for a Presidential candidate to win all the electoral votes of a state, a candidate must win a majority of the popular vote Maine and Nebraska don’t use winner-take-all system Pros of the Electoral College System Encourages a two-party system- national stability within the government Maintains a federal system (federalism) Requires a distribution of popular support- contributes to national unity Enhancement/protection of minority interests CONS: The popular vote winner may lose the presidency. There is no Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular votes in their states. Elector’s may vote against their party’s Presidential and Vice -Presidential candidates. ”faithless electors” If no candidate receives a majority, Congress will pick the President and Vice President. Winner takes all approach cancels the votes of the losing candidates in each state. Swing-States- States that through out history fluctuate between the two parties, these states, such as Texas, get more points than other states despite population. 2016 Election: Trump vs. Clinton In 2016 Trump won the election not based on popular vote but by Electoral votes, this was the fifth incident in U.S history. Hilary Clinton received 48.2% of popular vote and 227 electoral votes Donald Trump received 46.1% of popular votes however won the election with 304 electoral votes and was secured the 45th presidency of the United States of America A Call for Reform We’ve amended before, and it can be done again. The Electoral College should adhere to the popular vote Current system can neglect the will of the people National popular vote bill Guaranteed to follow the popular vote winner in all 50 states plus Washington D.C. References: About the electors. (2020, August 26). National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/electors#why-vote Cobb, W.N. W. (2019). Political Science Today. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781544358314/ Debating the Electoral College. (2020, March 24). National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/debating- the-electoral-college.aspx Maffucci, M. (2018). The Electoral College: A System “for the People?” DigitalCommons@UMaine. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/350/ What is the Electoral College? (2019, December 23). National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about