Pros and Cons of the Electoral College Essay Example
A) What are the pros and cons of the Electoral College?
An interesting point to this discussion is that many of the “pros” are argued by some to be disadvantages, and many of the “cons” are believed to be the advantages of the system by others. It could be said that the Electoral College was created for a different time in this country, but by some degree of fortune and foresight it is one of the staples of our government today.
A definite benefit of the Electoral College has been the squelching of other parties, which in turn has helped to maintain the two-party system and Congress. The minimizing of these other parties also proves beneficial since many times they would draw radical political lines that would be very divisive and could give greater power to smaller groups. Yet another advantage of the system is that it forces candidates to extend their campaigning to all states, not just the major metropolises and population centers. It could also be said that the Electoral College distributes the power to the states, and forces candidates to consider the concerns of more than just the lobbyists and those in political prominence.
While there are some distinct advantages, there are also some negative aspects to the Electoral College. What could possibly be considered the biggest detriment to the Electoral College is that a president can be elected to office without winning the majority vote. (As George Bush proved in most recent memory.) This is significant because it is indicative of the fact that certain states get more “votes per person” than other states. Also, in theory, the Electoral College forces candidates to spread their campaigns more equally in terms of geography. However, in reality this issue can become moot if some states are traditionally “red” or “blue”, and the focus of the campaigns then turns to the “swing states”. Additionally, the Electoral College provides the opportunity for an election to end in a tie. Many political
An interesting point to this discussion is that many of the “pros” are argued by some to be disadvantages, and many of the “cons” are believed to be the advantages of the system by others. It could be said that the Electoral College was created for a different time in this country, but by some degree of fortune and foresight it is one of the staples of our government today.
A definite benefit of the Electoral College has been the squelching of other parties, which in turn has helped to maintain the two-party system and Congress. The minimizing of these other parties also proves beneficial since many times they would draw radical political lines that would be very divisive and could give greater power to smaller groups. Yet another advantage of the system is that it forces candidates to extend their campaigning to all states, not just the major metropolises and population centers. It could also be said that the Electoral College distributes the power to the states, and forces candidates to consider the concerns of more than just the lobbyists and those in political prominence.
While there are some distinct advantages, there are also some negative aspects to the Electoral College. What could possibly be considered the biggest detriment to the Electoral College is that a president can be elected to office without winning the majority vote. (As George Bush proved in most recent memory.) This is significant because it is indicative of the fact that certain states get more “votes per person” than other states. Also, in theory, the Electoral College forces candidates to spread their campaigns more equally in terms of geography. However, in reality this issue can become moot if some states are traditionally “red” or “blue”, and the focus of the campaigns then turns to the “swing states”. Additionally, the Electoral College provides the opportunity for an election to end in a tie. Many political