Eliminate electoral college

In addition, people are more likely to follow the laws or rules voluntarily when they believe that their voices are being heard, which can reduce corruption and helps society run more smoothly.

It doesn't matter if we all get one vote when some votes are worth more than others. One effect of this mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever to make much of a showing in the Electoral College.

Suffice it to say, Americans have the right to challenge the hegemony of the two-party system. You have political power. For in a direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties to form in an attempt to prevent whatever popular majority might be necessary to elect a president.

Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College System. The Electoral College is a cancerous tumor on American democracy, as it slowly eats away at the basic notions of fairness and equality in our political system.

Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political parties which tend to the center of public opinion rather than dozens of smaller political parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. In this process of assimilation, third party movements are obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more generally acceptable objectives.

This is true simply because it is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough States to have a chance of winning the presidency. The Electoral College undermines our belief that the electoral process is fair.

Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of population.

Proposals to abolish the Electoral College, though frequently put forward, have failed largely because the alternatives to it appear more problematic than is the College itself.

And who can say whether third-party candidates are getting an honest reflection of their base with the Electoral College, which adds a layer of strategic thinking that many voters likely have to grapple with as they arrived at their polling places.

In Michigan, all eight campaign visits by Clinton and Trump in the final two months of their campaigns were to the Detroit and Grand Rapids areas, with neither candidate visiting the rural parts of the state. Arguments for the Electoral College Proponents of the Electoral College system normally defend it on the philosophical grounds that it: During that time, 87 percent of campaign visits by the four candidates were in 12 battleground states, and none of the four candidates ever went to 27 states, which includes almost all of rural America.

But that opportunity was lost because no one cares what Alabama thinks during a presidential election. For starters, the way the system works paves the way for the perception that third-party candidates are spoilers, not players, with elections ending with anger being hurled their way for distorting the result.

Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. Yale University Press, Combined with the widespread understanding that most votes in most states simply have virtually no chance of affecting the outcome of the presidential election, the effect is to erode our collective belief that our most important political office is actually chosen democratically.

And the price is that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending as in on whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly distributed across the States.

There is historical precedence for changing the way states award electoral votes. This would accomplish "government by popular majority" and guarantee the representation of minority parties, but it would also demolish our federal system of government. The notion that Clinton would have won the election in a system without an Electoral College, fully dependent on the popular vote, is a pretty dangerous assumption.

Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire.

Voters in solidly blue states like Delaware and Hawaii, or solidly red states like Alaska and Wyoming are neglected, while large swing states like Florida and Ohio are showered with intention.

Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of population.

Their residents deserve the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with the presidential campaigns, too.

In Pennsylvania, for example, 72 percent of Pennsylvania campaign visits by Clinton and Trump in the final two months of their campaigns were to the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas. Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire.

In the United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the States according to the size of their population. This issue was mentioned above and is discussed at greater length below. History of Presidential Elections. Back ina vote to abolish the electoral college failed in the Senate by just two votes.

At the time, then-Sen. Alben Barkley (D-Ky.), who would later become vice president, labeled the. The Pro's and Con's of the Electoral College System There have, in its year history, been a number of critics and proposed reforms to the Electoral College system - most of them trying to eliminate it.

But there are also staunch defenders of the Electoral College who, though perhaps less vocal than its critics, offer very powerful arguments.

The Pro's and Con's of the Electoral College System There have, in its year history, been a number of critics and proposed reforms to the Electoral College system - most of them trying to eliminate it. But there are also staunch defenders of the Electoral College who, though perhaps less vocal than its critics, offer very powerful arguments.

Nov 15,  · More to the point, the Electoral College is a good system for everyone who doesn’t relish the idea of the election cycles ending in a spate of never-ending recount lawsuits. As Richard Posner.

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Explanation It has been enacted into law in 12 states with electoral votes (CA, CT. Thanks to Rhode Island, the United States is closer than ever to getting rid of the Electoral College. Recently, the state signed the National .

Eliminate electoral college