Election time can be a stressful time for millions of people in the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. During this time, the country is experiencing change and that could frighten people. Citizens go to booths to vote on who they want as the people to be their president. Although every citizen has the right to vote, not everyone votes and the final decision is not up to the people. The final decision is up to the electors within the Electoral College and can decide the history for our country over the next four years.
The Electoral College was created so that uneducated people ouldn’t put an under qualified person into the Presidential Office. “The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. ” (https://www. archives. gov/federal-register/ electoral-college/about. html). The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College within the Constitution of the United States. The Founding Fathers believed that the people selected would make the best choice for the country.
The intended purpose of the Electoral College was to serve as a medium between the eople and Congress. This middle ground would help the general population and Congress both receive what they wanted. This electoral system was believed to give each state a voice at who should lead the nation for the years to come. The election process is a long process that lasts for months of the candidates preparing to gain the votes of the people. Many believe that the election end in November with the popular vote, but this is wrong.
The November vote is intended to give the Electoral College an idea of whom they should vote for. The electors are then supposed to vote for the candidate who had the majority of votes in their state. There are exceptions with this rule. Some states can vote for either candidate while other states have to vote for the person who had the majority. The true Election Day for the President is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. The Constitution is credited for giving each state their number of electors, but is possible for this number to change.
This number of electors is based off of the combined number of Senate members and House of Representatives members a state has. The electors are finally based off of population. It is possible for anybody to be an elector unless you are part of the United States Government. The number of electoral votes can change every ten years based on a census that is performed in each state including the District of Columbia. “Washington, D. C. , is the only non-state to be enfranchised for presidential elections, gaining electoral votes through the ratification of the 23rd Amendment in 1961. (http://www. 270towin. com/states/ District_of_Columbia).
The number of electors per state can be crucial for one candidate to win the election. The Electoral College has been successful many times throughout history but has failed to select a president. The Electoral College has been successful in that it has picked many presidents over hundreds of years. Over the years their has been failures in which there has been tied Electoral College votes and the popular vote choosing a different president than the Electoral College.
The Electoral College has failed to properly represent its people in the popular vote in five elections. The most recent ones have been in the 21st century occurring in 2000 and 2016. The 2000 vote was that George Bush had lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral Vote. The same thing had happened to Donald Trump this year. The two ties in history were in 1800 and 1824. These elections were forced to be brought upon the House of Representatives and voted there. Each state got one vote and the president was decided on who had more states voting for him.
The 45th election happened on November 8th. The election was between the Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. This election was one for the ages with one election like nobody has seen before. It was involved in social media and a constant feud between the two. There was a lot of suspense coming to November 8th because very poll had Hillary Clinton beating Donald Trump. Before the election, Donald Trump had the same chance to win the election as the Cleveland Cavaliers did to com back from a 3-1 lead to the Warriors.
When the election finally came, 306 of them went towards Donald Trump and 232 of them went towards Hillary Clinton. Later, the Electoral College is supposed to base their vote off of the popular vote of the state they represent. However, this November, the electoral system failed. Donald Trump won the presidency this year, obtaining 306 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton’s 232. This did not imply to the popular ote. Hillary Clinton received 65,444,673 votes compared to Trump’s 62,802,237 votes. This proved how the Electoral College process could be flawed in different elections.
This January, a president will finally be decided. Either candidate will| have to gain 270 votes to become the next president. If no candidate receives over 270 votes, due the House of Representatives elects the President and the Senate elects the Vice President The Electoral College is not the perfect way to pick a president and there could be other ways. One alternative is leaving the vote to the American people. This would show who the country eally wants for president. This is also negative because not everyone comes out and votes.
Only a small percentage of people vote and it won’t show the entirety of the country that they want for president. Another idea would be to give be the New Jersey Plan that was originally proposed how the election should be. This plan would allow each state to have the same vote. This would greatly benefit the smaller states but negatively affect the bigger states. The Electoral College can be altered to make it more democratic. A popular vote, by the people not the Electoral College, would allow everyone to vote nd think that they truly decide who wins the election.
Everyone’s voice would be heard and not just by some select amount of people. Having the popular vote represent the president could allow more people to come out and vote because they would know that their vote matters in some way. Many people complain that their voice isn’t heard so they just decide not to vote. Not voting hurts the overall morale of the country and shows that we are not as united. If the United States were able to increase the number, it would really show that the country is both untied and that the people chose the President.
The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers as a way to choose a president that the people wanted and make the selection that would later further the country’s progress. The Electoral College is based on the population of each state and could change throughout the years. Although that the Electoral College can change, it is not the perfect way to pick a President. This was shown in this year’s election showing that the candidate with the popular vote did not win the final election. The Electoral College has been criticized over previous years but has helped our country in the end make tough decisions on the Election.
