The Electoral College Should Be Abolished, Reformers Say There's a growing movement to ensure that the winner of the popular vote wins the presidency. It is impossible for a politician to gain the 270 votes needed to win the election by just concentrating on the states with the largest population or just one region. It spreads power to make sure that small states are not completely overlooked while ensuring that larger states keep their power. Lastly Document G, in which I feel the popular vote is a waste of time since they don’t seem matter. The Electoral College has and will continue to work in the way it was designed. The founding father's originally placed the electoral college in the constitution because they were afraid that the general population wouldn't have enough information to make a wise informed choice on who would be the best candidate for presidency, but now with the increase in social media and the ability to get information on almost anything at a moments notice, this principle has become worthless and outdated. Probably most readers knew why, but he does a particularly nice job in a short space. Should the Electoral College be abolished? Many proponents of the Electoral College argue that it protects smaller states in the Union and it forces presidential candidates to pay attention to smaller states. This content reflects the personal opinions of the author. While we may embrace democratic ideals, the United States is, in fact, a Republic. Though there is disagreement between the people in different states about government policies, they have separate governments that can address the issues that the citizens of states are concerned with. The electoral college was created in a time when votes were more difficult to collect and count. Whereas i obviously don't believe Reagan's decision to run in 1980 was bound by that faithless elector in 1976 -- i do believe it cause the leadership of the party lessen their attacks on Reagan as a potential candidate.In short, keep the electoral college - just reform the amount of representatives we have. The electoral college came out during a time when the American people were undereducated and the government people knew what was best. When will we really be able to elect our leader? DOWN WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE! Why or Why not? Rural areas that are less populated would be simply ignored, because they, as a whole, would have less impact on the election. Five times in U.S. history the presidential winner has lost the popular vote, including in the 2000 and 2016 elections. That "shot across the bow" if you will caused a stir in the leadership of the Republican party. Simply embracing it tightly and unwilling to see corrections to it.....Might seem unwise, as an outsider observing all of this.I understand there must be a better reasoning behind all of this, as I am simply trying to present the statistics and doing the math(hehe....We Asians XD). Take Bush vs. Al Gore for example. Now, does historical precedent make the Electoral College a necessity in our country? The electoral college is working as it is meant to - it is allowing smaller states to have a larger voice in the process. You see, through the past year or so, candidates went and rallied at these so called "battleground" states numerous times. If there were more people running and the race went to the House of Representatives, the new president could speak for 1% or fewer Americans. Would it be OK since most people vote for him. Match Direct Elections at Local and State Level. Should the electoral college be abolished. Republicans will have a reason to appeal more to minority voters and Democrats will have to appeal more to rural whites. By Emily Cousins | Staff Writer. It's time for the moderate majority to have a say. So… let’s review our thoughts on why you should want to abolish the Electoral … It explains why the candidates spend a disproportionate amount of time in swing states. And the other is power after Trump. Thus, the discussion of this issue may be considered a blessing that is the result of the liberty that we enjoy in the United States. One of the definitions of a Republic is the idea of Representative government. He ends with this: Traditionalists regard […] The Electoral College ensures that all the states have a voice in the national election. Whatever the largest amount of people in this country thought about one particular issue would become law regardless of whether or not it caused problems for minority groups. The EC was the best chance for the other states to be involved in the voting process to not get drowned out because of their lower population. And these three states are 6% of the states, and yet gave about 30% of the 270 needed and that leaves 47 more states to 165 EC votes. If the electoral college was abolished then presidential candidates would simply focus on highly populated areas. And it's only the start of a dark and deadly winter. By Isobel van Hage n 5 times in American history, someone has won the presidency without getting a majority of the popular vote, or a failure rate of just under 9 percent, and this is because of the Electoral College. This has heightened calls to abolish what some say is an antiquated system of electors. Why? Instead of this, we should use the outrageous idea of having a person's vote count directly to a candidate (a.K.A. Nice article. No!!!!!!!!! The Electoral College should be abolished because it does not represent the will of the people. The EC is encouraging both parties to appeal to the extreme left or the extreme right even though most Americans are moderates. When voting in California, it can seem like a futile duty if you are anything but a democrat, as California is traditionally a blue state. Yes, it should be abolished. We need to get rid of the Electoral College soon, because according to history, a mistake is bound to happen again with American elections. Furthermore, the electors for each state are not required to vote according to their citizen's wishes, which means with the Electoral College, a vote really doesn't count. This is because the geography is different, the people's beliefs are different, and the states have different governing policies. What makes them more important than others?Another aspect of this is the flaw of the "winner take all" system, which I believe should be replaced by "proportionate awarding delegate" system. If the Electoral College is abolished, there will be no point in having state governments. Given this, it is perfectly reasonable to expect some grumbling from Democrats, and I don't think their grumbling is necessarily stupid, and I do think, on a personal level, that their complaint is reasonable (though I disagree with it).The United States, however, is not a straight-up democracy. If the electoral representatives had voted along percentage lines in states, Hilary Clinton may have won the election. The Electoral College is an outdated system that stifles what the people truly want and doesn’t encourage a … Now you know you know why we should abolish the Electoral College. The popular vote or "direct democracy"). Are you suggesting that any of these areas are low-populated?Are you indicating that specifically these people in this area's voices are louder than the rest?It doesn't take a genius to notice that your presidency emphasizes the most on these states-what difference does it make?I noticed that many of you argue that your founding fathers had a reason(and I sure believe in that),but what about the equality of votes?Surely a vote in California (where Clinton carried by +363580) would mean far, far more insignificant than Michigan(where Trump narrowly won by +17168). Nothing can stop the repaired cells now.By the way, a nine year-old wrote this, so look at it carefully! Not necessarily, but it does show that the current argument for its abolition is faulty in its reasoning. Al Gore won more popular vote than Bush, but Bush was elected.UNFAIR! Twitter. In essence, it would break our republic, and due to this breaking, the entire government of the United States would need to be changed. The electoral college should be abolished. The United States should switch to direct popular vote and abolish the Electoral College, but it's not going to happen. There will be a voting system with highly reduced manipulation of vote. The electoral college is not really fair to our rights and our freedom. The electoral college is part of the basis on which this country was formed. Emily Cousins - September 29, 2020. The arguments being given by supporters of the abolition of the Electoral College are inconsistent, and thus, deficient, and showing the deficiency of arguments for a position is enough for us to justify dismissing the position. One purpose was to give votes to states, not people. Some argue that the benefits of the Electoral College are that it allows the more rural portions of the United States to be more equally represented. Also this should not depend on the government, for the president is serving us, not the government. Pros Cons The electoral college no longer works as it was intended by the founding fathers. Candidates would also only need to consider what is best for the most populace areas of the country. We have a country that helps protests the interests of the majority and individuals, Look our system has flaws, but some of it is useful.Lets say that 60% of Americans vote for a man that wants to invaded Canada and kill all the Mexicans. It is a check on the will of the majority as terms are a check on the President and congressmen. If the popular vote would have been without the offset by the EC then the highly populated states would always win. It's time to make a change and make our voice heard to our politicians. For Warren, abolishing the Electoral College is a means to achieving her end precisely because she believes that there are, at present, more Democratic voters nationwide than Republican voters. The electoral college system results in unfair outcomes for voters. Yes, the electoral college should be abolished. Yes. In fact, it is possible to become president while just representing 22% of the population because of the winner-take-all system, and that is just in a two-candidate race. The one thing wrong with the EC is the all or nothing vote by some states. This is one of the beauties of the republic. Now with the Electoral College every four years, the states choose presidential electors (the same amount of their representatives for Congress). The electoral college should be abolished. Every American's vote should count equally, no matter where that person lives. While the idea to abolish the Electoral College has been tossed around for awhile it took on new strength when George Bush was elected President over … Why would anyone want these red states (who have proven time and time again that they are incapable of implementing economic policies that help their people at the local level) to have so much power at the federal level? That 49% would go away and 49% of US would be abandoned. In addition, the Senate should be abolished and all elections should be run under the Alternative Vote system. P.S. The people, from the beginning of America, were given some say, but were never intended to have direct say in the election process. When this happens, it is usually the Democrat candidate that gets the short end of the stick. Between CA, NY and IL they gave HRC 105 EC votes. The Electoral College should be abolished because it does not represent the will of the people. For these reasons is why the electoral college should be kept without it we The founding fathers put it there for a reason. There are two reasons they want to abolish the Electoral College: One, of course, is Trump. The Electoral College should be abolished is the topic of this debate. Also this should not depend on the government, for the president is serving us, not the government. A straight-up popular vote would result in the primacy of larger states in regards to policy, and thus, the policies of those larger states would eventually become federal policies, for the politicians elected would agree with those states. If we were to be able vote, then we should be able to actually choose who would be president. If a candidate had to travel to all over the U.S., it would cost exponentially more than it already does. The Electoral College was created in September, 1787 after many arguments of how the president should be elected. We are not a democracy controlled by a large group nor are we a dictatorship control by a migratory. If we switch to popular vote people will have a bigger saying than they ever did before. And why would anyone want smaller, economically unimportant states to have so much impact on who wins the presidency anyway? Suppose Trump won even though almost half of the United States hated him. A sign of things to come. Capping it was bound to cause this issue. The need for the EC to be kept couldn't have been illustrated any better than the Trump 306 to 230 win over HFC. We can keep our republic of states and go back to following the U.S. Constitution & intent of the founders by adding new seats to U.S. House after each census like the country stopped doing in 1929. ... Why We Should Abolish the Electoral College. The virus is invading almost 50% of the cells. By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. This is plainly wrong, considering that most presidential visits during the 2012 election were to Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania, the smallest of which (Virginia) is ranked 12th in population out of the 50 states and territories in the U.S. Because state governments (particularly smaller states) would have such little power that their government policies would become inconsequential. Thus, the supporters of the abolition of the Electoral College are framing the issue at hand incorrectly. Electoral College Should Be Abolished. It also ensures that a candidate runs a national, rather than a regional, campaign. We should, however, recognize that even if the Electoral College is an anachronism that has long since ceased to perform as the framers expected, it fills other functions today. It is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and should not be substituted for impartial fact or advice in legal, political, or personal matters. Facebook. Allow me to explain.If America did not have an electoral college, the states with small populations would not matter at all in an election. Because of this, simply advocating the abolition of the Electoral College is not enough; what supporters of Electoral College abolition should be advocating is a complete restructuring of the US government and the abolition of state governments. Even so, discussions about how our country should be ran is a blessing; in many countries, questioning the way the governments' work could get you into a lot of trouble and could even result in death. Most states have restrictions on their electors, that if they vote against the popular vote they will be fined and replaced.The Electoral College actually ensures broad-based national support. We remain grateful.....(however not so hopeful for America-good luck y'all).. The mere task of campaigning with the electoral college is still ridiculously expensive, and most candidates only travel to the swing states. The electoral college proponents made a claim there will be more voting fraud, but this is just an excuse to maintain the power in the hands of the few and voting fraud is only a small problem in elections which means there are only a few. If we abolished the Electoral College, it would not make any sense for states to have their own governments. In many elections in the past, Presidential candidates who did not win a majority of the popular vote, or even a plurality, were elected president because of the electoral college. When you vote for a presidential candidate such as Hillary Clinton or Al Gore, and they get more popular votes and they still lose, it makes those who voted for either one of them feel like their vote didn't matter. Any state that isn't swing, gets largely ignored regardless of size. We all know that the college makes the real choice so when will we be able to? Both parties will have to change to broaden their appeal to more kinds of people. It has been in use for over 200 years and more than 50 presidential elections. NOT A DEMOCRACY THAT WORSHIPS THE MAJORITY. Here they are again. Everyone will get a better chance to get elected. The Electoral College Should Be Abolished, Reformers Say Isobel van Hagen 11/4/2020. Thank you for commenting! Good riddance to the EC. This is because we are not a democracy; we are a republic. Case in point, in the election of 2012, even though Republicans retained control in Congress, the popular vote was in favor of the Democrats as a whole for the elections in the House of Representatives. In short, the Electoral College makes it harder for her, or any other Democrat, to win a presidential election given present conditions. It seems to be inconsistent thinking on their part. There is the West Coast and the East Coast states with high populations. The Electoral College does have some weak points, however that does not mean it should not be dismissed entirely. So called blue parts of the country account for two thirds of economic activity in the US. Please comment on my profile if you agree. That year, Akhil Reed Amar wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that the Electoral College should be abolished, and Charles Fried disagreed. The electoral college takes that away from us. It mainly takes away the power to vote the president. For instance, Hillary Clinton would have gotten about half of Florida's electoral votes. Covid-19 has already exhausted the US. Additionally, because of the way the Electoral College is set up, it is possible for presidents to be elected into office with the minority of the popular vote. The Electoral College should be abolished is the topic of this debate. So the interests of populated states won't overwhelm the interests of rural states. Jason L Petersen (author) from Pensacola, FL on April 05, 2019: I am agreement with you that there is an issue with the EC.