Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Science Electoral College System Electoral College System A common misconception among Americans is that when they vote they elect the President. The truth is not nearly this simple. What in fact happens when a person votes is that there vote goes for an Elector. This Elector, who is selected by the respective state in which a vote is cast, casts ballots for two individuals, the President and the Vice-President. Each state has the same number of electors as there are Senate and House of Representative members for that State. When the voting has stopped the candidate who receives the majority of the Electoral votes for a state receives all the electoral votes for that state. All the votes are transmitted to Washington, D.C. for tallying, and the candidate with the majority of the electoral votes wins the presidency. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the responsibility of selecting the next President falls upon the House of Representatives. This elaborate system of Presidential selection is thought by many to be an 18th century anachronism (Hoxie 717), what it is in fact is the product of a 200 year old debate over who should select the President and why. In 1787, the Framers in their infinite wisdom, saw the need to respect the principles of both Federalists and States Righters (republicans). Summarily a compromise was struck between those who felt Congress should select the President and those who felt the states should have a say. In 1788 the Electoral College was introduced and put into effect. The College was to allow people a say in who lead them, but was also to protect against the general public's ignorance of politics. Why the fear of the peoples ignorance of politics? It was argued that the people, left to their own devices could be swayed by a few designing men to elect a king or demagogue (McManus 19). 200 years later the system is still designed to safeguard against the ignorant capacities of the people. The Electoral College has remained relatively unchanged in form and function since 1787, the year of its formulation. This in itself poses a problem because in 200 years the times have changed, yet the College has remained the same. A safeguard against a demagogue may still be relevant, but the College as this safeguard has proved flawed in other capacities. These flaws have shed light on the many paths to undemocratic election. The question then is what shall the priorities be? Shall the flaws be addressed or are they acceptable foibles of a system that has effectively prevented the rise of a king for 200 years? To answer this question we must first consider a number of events past and possible that have or could have occurred as a result of the flaws Electoral College. Under the current processes of the Electoral College, when a member of the general electorate casts a vote for a candidate he is in fact casting a vote for an Electoral College member who is an elector for that candidate. Bound only by tradition this College member is expected to remain faithful to the candidate he has initially agreed to elect. This has not always happened. In past instances Electoral College member have proved to be unfaithful. This unfaithful elector ignores the will of the general electorate and instead selects candidate other than the one he was expected to elect (McGaughey, p. 81). This unfaithfulness summarily subjugates all the votes for a candidate in a particular district. In all fairness it is important to note that instances of unfaithful electors are few and far between, and in fact 26 states have laws preventing against unfaithful electors (McGauhey, p.81). Despite this the fact remains that the possibility of an unfaithful elector does exist and it exists because the system is designed to circumvent around direct popular election of the President. The shortcomings of the Electoral College presented above are only a few of many flaws. Others flaws include the bias toward small and large states, which gives these states a disproportionate advantage; The bias toward those who live in urban areas and therefore enjoy a stronger vote than those living in sparsely populated areas (Bailey & Shafritz p. 63). The list of flaws is extensive. The question that still remains is whether or not the flaws are extensive enough to warrant change? The Electoral College has successfully provided the U.S. with its Presidents for 200 years and has done so without allowing the ascension of a demagogue. But in the process of 200 years of electing the College has allowed the will of the people to be compromised. Granted at the time of the 1800 elections the College was young and its shortcomings were not entirely clear. 200 years later the flaws have revealed themselves or have been revealed in various fashion. The question remains then are flaws acceptable considering the duty the College performs? If the purpose of the College is to provide democracy but prevent demagoguery then its success seems uncertain. The U.S. has seen no demagogue but has seen compromise of democracy. The evidence shows that the flaws of the Electoral College are responsible for democratic compromise. It would seem then that the flaws of the college are self-defeating to the purpose of the college. If this is then it is definitely time for reform. Bibliography: Bailey, Harry A. Jr., Shafritz, Jay M. The American Presidency, (California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., 1988) John F. McManus, "Let the Constitution Work," The New American Word Count: 890
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