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Example research essay topic: The Electoral College It Time To Move On - 1,719 words

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... gress should select the President and those who felt the states should have a say. In 1788 the Electoral College was indoctrinated and placed into operation. 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 p. 19). With the Electoral College in place the people could make a screened decision about who the highest authority in the land was to be (Bailey & Shafritz (p. 60); at the same time the fear of the newly formed nation being destroyed by a demagogue could be put to rest because wiser men had the final say. 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 stakes 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 (Mcgauhey, 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 unfaithful elector is an example of how the popular will can be purposely ignored. The Numbers Flaw reveals how the will of the people can be passed over unintentionally due to flaw of design (McNown, Lecture Notes, 2 / 20 / 93). (a) 6 /b (4) | (a) 6 /b (6) Candidate a: 18 (a) 6 /b (4) | (a) 0 /b (10) Candidate a: 3 In this theoretical example candidate (a) receives a minority of the popular votes with 18, but a majority of the electoral votes with three. Candidate (b) receives a majority of the popular votes with 22, but receives only one electoral vote. Under the winner-take-all system, the candidate with the majority of the electoral votes not only wins the state but also receives all the electoral votes for that state. In this hypothetical situation candidate (a) receiving a minority of the popular votes wins the state and takes all the electoral votes.

The acceptability of this denial of the popular will, unintentional or otherwise, is questionable to say the least. The problem posed by no one person receiving a majority of the electoral votes (a tie) first came to head in the 1800 elections. The success of political parties served to turn Electoral College members into agents of the parties Bailey & Shafritz p. 61). This so galvanized the 1800 elections that the Republican electors cast their two votes for the two Republican candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr respectively. It was assumed that Jefferson would be President and Burr the Vice-President. Unfortunately their was no constitutional doctrine to affirm this assumption.

As a result the ever audacious Aaron Burr challenged Jefferson election as President and the issue had to be sent to the House for resolution (Bailey & Shafritz, p. 61). Any debating on the issue was only incidental; when all was said and done the issue was decided by one man, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, and the Federalists were in control of the House when the decision was to be made. Hamilton, who disagreed with Jefferson but overwhelmingly distrusted Burr, orchestrated a blank ballot initiative among the Federalists which allowed the Republicans to select Jefferson as President (Bailey & Shafritz, p. 61).

Though this entire incident was significant the most noteworthy aspect was the fact that the President was essentially chosen by one man. The final decision was taken entirely out of the hands of the people and was left to the mercy of the biases of a single individual. In all fairness it should be noted that the 12 th amendment was formulated out of the Jefferson-Burr to forever lay to rest the question of who is President and Vice-President in a tie. The 12 th amendment stipulates that electors are to cast separate votes for the President and Vice President, and summarily an event such as the Jefferson-Burr incident cannot happen again. (Bailey & Shafritz p. 61). In effect the 12 th prevents the issue of a tie from going to the House under a very narrow scope of conditions. This is far less of a solution than one which would have prevented this issue from going to the House at all because when the issue of who would be President went to the House in 1800, the issue of democracy was left to compromise.

This all serves to reveal yet another flaw of the Electoral College process. Congressional selection of the President can lead to democratic compromise. This would seem an area of concern. Though some would argue we have had 200 years to distance ourselves from such maladies as the elections of 1800, the following reveals how close to home the flaws 200 year old institution can hit. In 1968 a three-way tie nearly brought to head the same undemocratic modes of presidential selections that emerged 200 years earlier with the Jefferson-Burr incident. The 1968 elections race was extremely close.

Richard Nixon barley received a majority of the electoral votes to win the presidency. Had Nixon failed to get a majority a number of bizarre scenarios might have emerged. The candidates in the race were Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace respectively. Had Nixon failed to win a majority Wallace would have been in a position to control who the next President would be (Bailey & Shafritz p. 65).

Though he could not have won himself Wallace could have used his votes as swing votes to give Nixon a majority, or give Humphrey enough to prevent Nixon from getting a majority (Bailey & Shafritz p. 65). In the latter instance the issue would have, as in 1800, been sent to the House for rectification. In either instance Wallace would have had a great deal to gain, and the temptation to wheel and deal (at the compromise of democracy) would have been great indeed. It is possible Wallace could have used his influence with Southern House members to get Humphrey elected.

In the process he would have likely 'garnered great political clout for himself. Wallace could have bargained with Nixon for an administration position in Nixon's cabinet in return for Wallace's electoral votes. The possible scenarios are endless, and for the most part irrelevant. What is relevant is that the processes of the Electoral College again paved a path for democratic compromise, just as it did in 1800. If time is the mechanism for change then apparently not enough time has passed. 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. 1 Bailey, Harry A. Jr. , Shafritz, Jay M.

The American Presidency, (California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co. , 1988) Chapter III 2 Mcgauhey, Elizabeth P. , "Democracy at Risk, " Policy Review, Winter 1993: 79 - 81 3 R. Gordon Hoxie, "Alexander Hamilton and the Electoral System Revisited, " Presidential Studies Quarterly, v. 18 n. 4 p. 717 - 720 4 John F. McManus, "Let the Constitution Work, " The New American, v. 8 n. 14 p. 5 William P. Hoar, "The Electoral College: How The Republic Chooses its Bibliography:


Free research essays on topics related to: electoral college, electoral votes, alexander hamilton, president and vice president, aaron burr

Research essay sample on The Electoral College It Time To Move On

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