Pros and Cons of the Electoral College

Imagine a school had to vote for their favorite video game. If majority of the school votes a specific game then they get to keep that game, but each class has different number of individuals so bigger classes count differently than the smaller ones. Therefore, if the bigger classes vote a specific video game they have a higher chance getting that game since their numbers are higher. This is how the electoral college works. As stated in Professor Beckerr's lecture, in 1787, the founding fathers wanted to create a more reliable way for Americans to vote for presidency because they did not trust the popular vote- this led to creation of the electoral college. According to the article Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote by Diffen, the electoral college consists of several electors in each state that gather votes and whichever candidate gets 270, they win presidency. Even though the electoral college has a lot of debatable reasons why it should be reformed, it would be best that the electoral college gets abolished instead. By choosing to abolish the electoral college, we would be able to have more equitable elections over the next generations. The electoral college may have a few pros and cons. First one pro is that no matter what year it is, the number to win is always 270 so not a lot of people can forget that when watching the elections. Second pro would be that since the census changes, so do the numbers of electors per state (Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote). So not only is it based on numbers, it evens itself out in states based on population. One con is that already we see that the electoral college creates favorites when it comes to states. In this case it means that the candidates would mostly focus certain states rather than the whole population in general. States such as California, New York, Florida, and Texas have immensely more electors than smaller states (Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote). This creates an unfair advantage for the vast population since they have a smaller number of electors. For example, it would be unfair if one candidate can have more states but less electors and so they would lose anyway since they got the votes of the smaller states instead. Second con would be that not all parties are equally divided. The electoral college tends to lean more on the republic and democratic side rather than the third parties that are stated in the elections. Therefore, instead of having the electoral college the way it is, it should be eradicated, and the voting system should be changed so the majority would vote and have the same number as other states. This would create a winner takes all for every state instead of specific ones. One reason why it would be more of a representative presidential election is that the other people also known as the third parties would be able to have a higher chance for getting elected than taking part of the electoral college. This would allow more third parties to be involved with more media ads and have more chances being seen in the public eye. Another reason why it would be more of a representative presidential election is that since the candidates would want to get everyoner's votes, their choices they make would involve everyone instead of singling out other states. Meaning, that if a candidate really wanted to get voted, then they would offer more ideas to capture everyoner's eye. There would be a lot of pros and cons for having the electoral college eradicated and letting the majority vote instead. First pro would be that people all over the United States would finally feel that their vote would matter. This would finally let future generations feel that their vote would count. Next pro would be that it since it would make the people feel that their voice is heard rather than forgotten this would increase the chances for people to pay attention more and voting more frequently. People would more likely want to vote rather than just watch and see who gets elected. Another pro would be that minority parties or third parties would have more of a chance for getting voted rather than in electoral college where it is almost impossible to get elected. This would allow people with other races/ or ethnicities to want to get involved if they want to be a candidate instead of feeling that they have no chance against the popular groups. There are quite a few cons if the electoral college was abolished and majority voted instead. First con, is that since there are more parties being involved some voters would no know who to vote so there would be many choices to choose from. This might make people feel that they might be overwhelmed when voting. Another con is that if each state were counted as the same number, the elections might be longer than it is rather than in the electoral college where a number can be as high as 55 which is known the number of electors in California (Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote). According to the article Eliminating the Electoral College Would Corrupt Our Elections by Trent England, another con would that since the electoral college prevents fraud, there would be more of chance it would happen. This would mean that candidates would be able to outsmart the system and be able to cheat their way into presidency. Even though fraud could happen in elections, that does not mean that if they get caught, they would not be penalized. If the electoral college would be abolished and have the majority vote instead it would help the system out in many ways. According to Trent England, the first reason why it would help the system is because instead of having recounts in presidential elections, there would be a final winner each time. This would prevent the elections from stalling and would make the elections faster. Another reason that it would help the system is because if people voted for their candidate for economic reasons, for example to lower taxes, then they have a better chance for having a better economy if more people saw this as an opportunity to get their state back in to shape then that candidate has captured their eye in the elections. This could also capture the eyes of a state that immensely needs financial help as well. Finally, The United States have been through a lot of elections that include many presidents that were not best suited for the job and others that were very well qualified and even saved the United States from many disasters. Even though there were some presidents and some that were not, that does not mean that the United States will always be there same. There are a lot of elections that some people do not win because the electoral college says they did not have enough points. But, if the electoral college was abolished many people would feel that the government would let destiny take its path and let whoever the American citizens vote lead them to a better society. As stated before that if majority was to vote instead of the electoral college then this would also lead to a better economic system financially, socially, and mentally. This is what people need today. Instead of people getting into debates about who voted for who, they would understand that the majority would have to have to vote instead of the main states instead leaving the United States a little more satisfied with their votes. Therefore, I wish to abolish the electoral college.

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