The State Of The Electoral College - 1077 Words

â€Å"Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy.† These words from the Greek philosopher Plato summarize the most fundamental concern of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention when they considered what the best way to conduct presidential elections would be. While, in concept, democracy sounds like the fairest form of government, in practice, it is less than ideal. Fear of â€Å"tyranny of the majority† prompted discussion over how the president should be elected. The Founders chose the Electoral College—which incorporates democracy, federalism, and republicanism—for presidential selection, because it provided for the best balance of power. The Electoral College was the product of no small amount of debate during the Constitutional†¦show more content†¦While he agreed that â€Å"the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the [president],† he made clear the importance of â€Å"afford[ing] as little opportunity as poss ible to tumult and disorder.† This would require the will of the people to be tempered by â€Å"an intermediate body of electors.† Not only would this be a compromise between the competing ideas in the Constitutional Convention, it would prevent any one group from having undue discretion when it came to electing the most powerful person in government. Of these competing ideas, two are prominently reflected in the Electoral College. The first is democracy, an idea largely advanced by Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America. Democracy, loosely defined as the direct representation of people in government, seems the most logical way to conduct an election. The second is federalism. Understanding how this could become problematic, the founders decided to include states in the election process. According to Federalist 68, this would allow â€Å"the people of each State [to] choose a number of persons as electors†¦who shall assemble†¦and vote for some fit p erson as President.† This balance of individual and state discretion would soon be codified in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution. The Electoral College has remained steadfast in our ever changing world. WhatShow MoreRelatedThe United States Electoral College715 Words   |  3 Pages The electoral College was developed at the first constitutional convention in 1787 by James Wilson. The idea of the electoral college was influenced by how Rome would elect the Pope around the same time. During the Constitutional Convention they bounced around several ideas on which way would be most effective to elect a president. The number of electors was dependent upon the number of people in that states senate, (will always be 2) and the number of the people that state had in the House, (whichRead MoreThe Electoral College Of The United States1681 Words   |  7 PagesThe Electoral College The Electoral College in the United States is not a place but a process. It was a process our founding fathers established in the Constitution. It is a complicated voting system that most citizens today do not understand. The Electoral College has been in place for well over two hundred years and is unfortunately showing its age. Most people believe that when they vote in a general election for the President, they truly believe they are voting for the president. ThisRead MoreThe Electoral College Of The United States1621 Words   |  7 PagesThe Electoral College in the United States is not a place but a process. It was a process our founding fathers established in the Constitution. It is a complicated voting system that most citizens today do not understand. The Electoral College has been in place for well over two hundred years and is unfortunately showing its age. Most people believe that when they vote in a general election for the President, they truly believe they ar e voting for the president. This has shown to be the caseRead MoreUnited States Electoral College2080 Words   |  9 Pages Marlon Straker Professor Trokkos PLS 201 04 December 2016 Electoral College With every Presidential election, the United States’ electoral college takes place. The electoral college has been around for about 200 years and it is still going strong with its intended purpose. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Democracy is defined as a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representationRead MoreThe United States Electoral College1757 Words   |  8 Pages The United States Electoral College is ultimately the way the President is elected. The electors are first picked from their state party, and then on election day they are voted on, based on their party. Then those electors take the popular vote from their state to either pursued their vote, or not. The electors are under no obligation to vote in the way that their state did. This is one reason why sometime the popular vote and the electoral votes don’t agree. Each state has a different amountRead MoreThe United States Electoral College1869 Words   |  8 PagesThe Electoral College was established with the best of intentions of representing the American people; however, over time, this antiquated system has failed the American people. The people of the United States deserve better as the Electoral College is no longer a representation of the nation’s voices and concerns. Instead, the political machine has corrupted this deep-rooted system with each modification. The way the people of the United States elect the President and Vice President, requires anRead MoreThe Electoral College in The United States1669 Words   |  7 Pagesaspect of American democracy at the forefront of the world stage. The election to the office of the leader of the free world, the Presidency of the United States of America was in question. How could a candidate receive more votes and still lose in the richest most powerful democracy in the world? I need n ot to go into a debate about the Electoral College as my stance will be clarified rather clearly. The night of the election it seemed as if the Vice President and candidate for the Democratic PartyRead MoreThe United States Electoral College1009 Words   |  5 Pages TravelChinaGuide.com (n.d.) states that Chinese years are represented by twelve zodiacal animal signs. The demographic religious breakdown is as follows: Folk religion, 21.9%, Buddhist, 18.2%, Christian, 5.1%, Muslim, 1.8%, Jewish and Hindu are both less than 0.1% (CIA World Factbook, 2015). Demographically, there are more males than females. Recently, the Chinese government lifted their ban of one child maximum per family (Burkitt, 2015). China’s government In 2013, XI Jinping was elected as PresidentRead MoreThe Electoral College System Of The United States Essay1670 Words   |  7 PagesAfter a year of voting and much debate the final decision of electing the 45th president of the United States was once again down to the Electoral College. (history) The Electoral College system was established by the founding fathers around 130 years ago and basically a process used to select the President and vice President of the United States of America (Procon). So when you went to the polls on November 8th and casted your vote for the next president, something else happened behind the scenesRead MoreThe Electoral College And The United States Of America1065 Words   |  5 PagesThe 45th President if the United States of America will be sworn in on January 2017. So let’s examine the election process leading up to this momentous occasion. The president and vice president are not chosen by a nationwide popular vote of the American people. Rather, they are chosen by the slate of 538 Electors who have pledged their support for that candidate. The Electoral College is a process, not a place. This process is spelled out in the United States Constitution. Why Did the Founding