Pros And Cons Of Popular Vote
Representation and voting are essential parts of a democratic system of government. The current voting system in the United States is the Electoral College. In the past, systems of popular voting had been used by other countries. There are pros and cons to both systems. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College.
A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. “Turnouts [would] also increase if more people see the benefits that flow from their participation” (pg. 211). The election of the leader of the United States is an important decision that should include the citizens’ opinions, which are expressed directly through their votes. The Electoral College system “breeds the psychology among voters that they are throwing away their vote” (pg. 193) when they don’t vote for a candidate from a major party. This decreases the voter turnout and ruins chances for third-party candidates.
A popular voting system would give third-party …show more content…
A democracy is, by definition, “a political regime in which the power base is constitutionally given to the people” (pg. 698). A system of popular voting would directly give the power to the people - the voters - to elect their national representative - the president. In the system of the Electoral College, a candidate without the majority support by the people has the possibility to win the election. One example of this is that “in the election of 2000, George W. Bush won the presidency with 271 votes in the Electoral College even though he had fewer popular votes than his opponent Al Gore ” (pg. 192). This possibility causes the Electoral College to be undemocratic. A popular voting system is more democratic because the president would be the choice of the majority of the
A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. “Turnouts [would] also increase if more people see the benefits that flow from their participation” (pg. 211). The election of the leader of the United States is an important decision that should include the citizens’ opinions, which are expressed directly through their votes. The Electoral College system “breeds the psychology among voters that they are throwing away their vote” (pg. 193) when they don’t vote for a candidate from a major party. This decreases the voter turnout and ruins chances for third-party candidates.
A popular voting system would give third-party …show more content…
A democracy is, by definition, “a political regime in which the power base is constitutionally given to the people” (pg. 698). A system of popular voting would directly give the power to the people - the voters - to elect their national representative - the president. In the system of the Electoral College, a candidate without the majority support by the people has the possibility to win the election. One example of this is that “in the election of 2000, George W. Bush won the presidency with 271 votes in the Electoral College even though he had fewer popular votes than his opponent Al Gore ” (pg. 192). This possibility causes the Electoral College to be undemocratic. A popular voting system is more democratic because the president would be the choice of the majority of the