Electoral Systems: Critical for Fair Governance in the US - Research Paper

Introduction

Electoral systems are critical in the governance of a country, as they demonstrate the manner in which votes that are cast in a general election are translated into legislative seats, a matter that significantly affects the key governance dynamics and decisions in a country. In the United States, an electoral college system is used, which consists of the 538 electors depending on the states (Longley). Therefore, the citizens practice indirect democracy, as they do not elect their president directly. The US electoral college system has raised long controversy, considering that a president can win the electoral college without winning the popular vote (Bennett 68). An example is the 2016 presidential elections where the Democrat presidential candidate Hilary Clinton won the popular vote with over 2.8 million votes, against President Donald Trump, who won the electoral college vote and hence be declared the president-elect (Longley). Therefore, the US electoral college system should be reviewed and reformed to improve the system and make it more democratic.

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The electoral system in the United States provides a platform where the electoral college can override the popular vote, as noted in the recent general election, hence limiting democracy and the way of the majority. Candidates who lose the national popular vote have a chance of being elected and winning the presidential election (Bennett 68). This creates the potential to override the will of the majority, which can be cited to be a significant reason to abolish the system. The founders of the system believed that the citizens were poorly educated and informed regarding the political issues of the country (Longley). However, such reasoning may not be relevant in modern US society, where the literacy levels have improved significantly. Therefore, to promote democracy in the country, there is a need to facilitate a platform where people's ideas count. Considering that the popular vote does not count alone, people are demotivated to vote. In this regard, the electoral system does not represent democratic practices as it should.

The electoral system in the United States has been noted to offer power imbalances when voting, thereby impacting on democracy. For example, the fourteen swing states have a lot of power during the election. It has been established that the needs and the issues of the voters in the swing states, the ones that have historically voted for both the Democratic and the Republican presidential candidate, have a significant consideration by campaigners compared to other states (Josephson). Presidential campaigns have demonstrated various patterns, where candidates rarely visit predictable states such as California and Texas. Therefore, there are fewer campaign ads in the non-swing states, which limits the exploration of democracy (Pildes). Besides, the swing states do not represent the entire nation, thereby depicting the bias in democratic presentations. In this regard, changes should be established to offer equitable consideration of everyone, and make every citizen feel that they are essential (Jones, Ross and Brett 217). With the increase with the well-informed electors, there is a possibility of the 'tyranny of the majority,' that requires the equal influence in the powers, the electoral college system does not provide that.

Under the electoral college system, people have a feeling that although their votes count, not every vote matter. For example, the Democrats' votes in the liberal California state have less impact compared to the final outcome of the less predictable states with swing votes like Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania. However, it has been noted that abolishing the electoral college system would require a constitutional amendment, which is a lengthy and mostly unsuccessful process (Edwards 27). However, measures can be taken to reform the system without necessarily abolishing it. An example is the National Popular Vote Plan, which sought to ensure that the winner of the popular vote, has enough electoral college votes to be declared the winner (Josephson) ultimately. Besides, it has been suggested that a system can be established where states split their electoral votes based on the popular vote for each of the candidates. Such suggestions would ensure that each individual vote has a vital role in deciding the final tally. Besides, eliminating the popular winner takes it all, which is a provision of the electoral college currently would lessen the tendency of the swing votes to dominate the entire electoral process. Therefore, voters across the nation would feel obligated to vote for their candidate and they are convinced they can significantly influence the voting system.

Despite the problems associated with the electoral college system in the US, it depicts numerous advantages, like giving say to the minority, which makes it necessary. It should be noted that based on the structure, the president must receive national support to win the election. Therefore, there is a strong cohesiveness within the country since there is a distribution of support to the majority of the electoral college votes that are received (Pildes). This means that candidates do not only concentrate on the big states with a massive population. Such a formation means that the minorities have a say in the election, and hence the governance of the country at the national level. In this regard, while suggestions may be put across for reforms, there is a need to relook at the advantages of the system and facilitate political wellness in the country (Mulroy 45). Changing it altogether may impact on the political stability of the country, which has been predictable for ages. Through the electoral college system, the country focuses on a two-party system. However, this does not mean that the other political parties cannot participate in an election. It implies that there is a level of predictability, which has assisted in ensuring that the country is politically stable. Therefore, any changes should assess the situation and ensure that the new system does not create a political turmoil.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the electoral college system in the US offers numerous advantages, despite the notable limitations, which indicate its significance in the country. The system creates some level of fairness in the country during elections, as the voices of the minority are represented. However, the possibility of a president with popular minority votes demonstrates that there is a need to transform the system. From the analysis, the most effective method would be splitting the college votes based on the proportion of the percentage of votes that each candidate gets in the state. This would not abolish the electoral system, but change the winner takes it all policy in most states, that have created bias especially in the predictable states. Additionally, such a system would give more hope to the smaller parties and independent candidates, as each vote would count.

Works Cited

Bennett, Robert W. Taming the Electoral College. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Law and Politics, 2006. Print.

Edwards, George C. Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 2005. Print.

Jones, Ellis, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson. The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make a Big Difference. Gabriola Island, B.C: New Society Publishers, 2007.

Josephson, Amella. The pros and cons of the electoral college. 2018 (Accessed 7 December 2019). https://smartasset.com/insights/the-pros-and-cons-of-the-electoral-college

Longley, Robert. Electoral college pros and cons. 2019. (Accessed 7 December 2019). https://www.thoughtco.com/electoral-college-pros-and-cons-4686409

Mulroy, Steven. Rethinking Us Election Law: Unskewing the System. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2018.

Pildes, Richard. "How Democrats should reform elections in the States." The American Prospect. (Accessed 7 December 2019). https://prospect.org/power/democrats-reform-elections-states/