Electoral College: Key to US Presidential Elections - Research Paper

Introduction

All the presidential elections in the United States must pass through the Electoral College. It makes the individual votes bot count on who will become the next president. It is a significant foundation of the United States' elections (Proulx, 2019). Its power is felt when they make the final decision on who becomes the president. In fact, out of the past elections that have happened in the US, the college has made decisions against the will of the majority and elected the president. They are the case of George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The two failed to gunner the votes of the majority, but they ended up becoming the presidents after getting more votes from the Electoral College.

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The college is made up of 538 members. They are representative of all the states. The 538 becomes the total votes that are going to count. The number was achieved by adding the number of senators, in which there are two senators in every state. Then 438 house representatives are distributed according to the population of a particular state. The 538 votes are thus divided amongst the states. To spread the votes, every state initially gets three automatic votes. The remainder will depend on the population of the state (Proulx, 2019). The more the people the state has, the more the number of votes.

Thus when the citizens vote, they are not trying to tell who they want to be the president. Instead, they are directing whom they wish to their representative to select. Thus the winner in each state gets all the votes. However, there are over ten million Americans who do not live in the states. They should be represented too since, in the past, these people were not entitled to vote. Only in 1964, after the amendment of the constitution, they can now vote (Dufour & Linguist, 2017). The system uses electors, who are individuals who come together to elect the president to be (Dufour & Linguist, 2017). These electors are not forced to elect who the people want. They are allowed to vote the way they want. Thus, the majority can vote for a particular aspirant, yet the elector picks a different one. Therefore, abolishment of the Electoral College will ensure that the citizens get power to elect the president.

Formation of the College and Its Effectiveness

In a description by Colomer (2018), the Electoral College was designed in the 1700s during this time; the mode of communication and transport was poor. Thus, to save time, the individuals had to be elected to represent the general public in the Electoral College. This would help reduce the problems caused by vast distances. Hence, the representatives would meet in Washington and make their presidential choice. Since it was brought into being, it has served its purpose till the time was reached when the candidates could manipulate it in their favor. One significant way this happens is through the fact that candidates now focuses on only the swing states. On one hand, some states are predominantly democrat voters and some Republican voters (Colomer, 2018). On the other hand, there are those whose votes tie. Thus, the candidates concentrate on these few states rather than the country at large.

Outdatedness of the Electoral College

Several reasons make U.S. citizens have a strong belief in the fact that the use of the Electoral College is outdated. The value of the college is no longer serving the needs of the citizens. The main reason for its existence is no longer valid since transport and communication have been improved. Currently, votes can be collected from any place in the country and results tallied in the least time possible (Rosenfeld, 2018). Changes occur and have to be accepted in one way or another. There has to be a way to harmonize the new differences that better human existence. Thus, bringing a change to the Electoral College should not be fought bitterly but should be accepted and way forward to make it better established. Some of the reasons why it is said to be outdated are as follows.

It Is Based on Outdated Doctrines

Dufour and Linguist (2017) assert that the basis of the existence of the Electoral College id based on the doctrines that were laid in 1700. It was majorly created to reduce the costs associated with poor transport and infrastructure. A comparison of the two dynamic times essentially states that we are in an era that requires the use of modern methods in all aspects of life.

At the moment, the U.S. is among the leading countries in the development of transport and the telecommunication industries (Dufour & Linguist, 2017). The fear that was there before that people could not get the news quickly is no longer there. In a matter of seconds, information can be moved from one corner of the states to the other far end. Thus, the basis of the existence of the body is no longer void. One significant surprising fact is that the constitutions have been amended severally to accommodate the changes that have taken place, but this one has never been considered. It is in recent times when the college decided against the will of the people that the citizens are coming out against it.

Something new has to be established even if it means a new re-engineering of the whole body. At the moment, the powers vested on it are too much for an organization that is based on outdated doctrines. Its basis of existence is not valid in the current era, and that is why movements to abolish are coming into play. Indeed someday it will be uprooted totally or even eliminated by making significant changes into it (Dufour & Linguist, 2017). These changes will bring a new face to the elections of the United States.

It Does Not Give an Accurate Representation of the People

The voice of the people has to be carried through their vote. In all democratic countries that are governed by the constitution, the people have to select one to become the president, and everyone's vote counts. The minority will have their say while the majority will have their way. The U.S.' voting procedure, however, is different, and all the voting power is given to a few individuals who are going to choose the president. The representation itself is so small that millions of voters cannot be represented by only 538 electors (Rosenfeld, 2018). The number does not add up, and it was possible when the number of voters was smaller or when the total population was low. At the moment, the community has grown almost ten times more, and thus the methods used in choosing the president have to be changed.

As described by Proulx (2019), the trends are changing, technology is coming into place, the country's population is increasing, and new changes must be made in the already available structures to accommodate the changes. One of the changes that have to be brought in to accommodate for this is the removal or total replacement of the Electoral College body (Proulx, 2019). The standards of the local citizens will be raised as there will be increased value when they take the opportunity to choose the leader of their choice.

The United States has been exemplary in setting the pace for many things, including economic development, infrastructure, fighting for gender equality in all aspects of life as well as the elimination of racism. They have, however, failed to build their democracy. The locals do not have the power in their hands to elect leaders. This has been prevented by the Electoral College (Proulx, 2019). Thus for the future development of democracy and raising the country's status about this, something has to be done to the body. By the look of things, the best choice to do is to abolish it totally and introduce new laws that will be used in the presidential elections.

People From the Territories Have Not the Right to Vote

Individuals from the territories add up to a population of more than 4 million. However, they are not entitled to vote. These territories include: Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Island, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Island, and Guam (Dufour, & Linguist, 2017). The above territories do not have any constitutional amendment that allows them to take part in voting. The people living there are, however, full citizens of the United States. It is ironical since the U.S. is considered one of the most democratic countries, yet some of its citizens have no right to choose their next president (Proulx, 2019). It must be the only place in the world where people have no voting rights. This can be attributed to the power vested on the Electoral College.

Instead of having such electoral bureaucracies, the country should be aiming at transforming the lives of individuals such as the residents of these territories. They, too, are citizens and should have full privileges as their fellow citizens. It is surprising that if one migrates from the U.S. to another country such as the U.K., they have the right to vote, but if they migrate to these territories, they cannot vote (Cervas, & Grofman, 2017). The reason behind this is not clear at all, but the constitution has to be amended so that the Electoral College is removed and voting introduced in such areas. After all, why should there much need to vote in these areas if their voices cannot be heard? Why should they struggle to have voting rights at the moment if the Electoral College is making choices on everyone's behalf? In short American citizens lack the fundamental voting rights, and this is attributed to the fact that

A Few Individuals Make the Decisions

Since the individuals chosen to go to the Electoral College meeting are humans with personal needs too, they could be biased. They may fail to have the interest of the people at heart. This could be a negative outcome of the elections (Proulx, 2019). The decision that will affect more than a hundred million people cannot be made by just 538 individuals. They could be coached, bribed, or even have personal reasons for voting the way they want. This makes it irrelevant to hold elections in such places. This type of election has never been held anywhere else in the world, and the U.S. should follow examples of fellow leading countries.

The effects of having this type of election may not be felt by the general public and the economy, but deep down the hearts of the people, they do not like it. The fact that the board on more than one occasion chosen the president against the will of the people shows that the masses were not happy about the results. Thus is major hinders democracy. An individual may be representing the whole state, but they, too, have different views (Dufour & Linguist, 2017). The citizens may have elected a particular candidate. Still, since the representative had a different perspective, he/she will choose to base on their likes and putting in mind that the presidential elections are essential in the development of the country's economy. It is not worth to put the decision in the hands of a few individuals. They could manipulate the results of the elections to benefit them and their businesses at the expense of the whole nation. This could be detrimental to the development of the nation and its economy. This has not happened before, but there is a likelihood of it being used later.

The Essence of Democracy Is Not Felt

When democratic countries worldwide are ranked the U.S., it is not amongst the topmost. This is because the citizens have no right to elect the present they want. The presidential election is majorly used to get the democratic status of a country. This is because it could be the only election that elects the highest post in the land. However, U.S. citizens do not have that right. The Electoral College has stripped that right from them, and thus democracy is undermined (Dufour, & Linguist, 2017). The voice of the village stat...