The recent triumph of Barack Obama in the United States Presidential Election of 2008 is one of the biggest issues among many other large events that have occurred in America this twelvemonth. Early on. even during the presidential primaries. the subject of whether or non so Presidential campaigner Obama would be influential plenty to win the electoral ballot was an issue. It was undoubted that the Democratic Party enjoyed the support of the popular ballot yet the bigger was issue was whether or non they would be able to derive sufficiency of the Electoral College ballots.
The events and arguments taking up to the election have besides brought about a controversial election subject which is that of Electoral College reform. This brief discourse shall undertake the issue of Electoral College Reform and whether or non a different method for the choice of the United States president should be used. To get at a better apprehension of the issue. it is of import to first discourse the pros and cons of the current system. As such. there will be a treatment into the historical ancestors and the impact of such electoral alterations.
Finally. this discourse will foreground the grounds why the method used by Maine and Nebraska is more effectual. Electoral College Reform In 1888. the election of Benjamin Harrison was controversial because for the first clip in American History the victor of the Electoral College lost the popular ballot. This raised a batch of inquiries because it was thought to typify the deficiency of support for the President by the American populace. It would besides intend that the authorization of the populace was non for the President and it would do it really hard to go through reforms and Torahs.
This is because the United States has a democratic authorities. It must be remembered that a democratic system is frequently erroneously characterized as the regulation of the bulk ( Davenport 380 ) . While there is normally a big group of in-between category persons that comprise this democratic system. it does non needfully intend that the bulk regulation. This lone means that the bulk normally elects the representative to office but the trademark of any democracy is still the protection of the rights of the minority.
As such. the system of Electoral College ensures that while the bulk may act upon the result of an election it besides makes certain the people are able to freely choose their representation at all degrees. most particularly at the degree of the presidential term. Most late. the issue of Electoral College Reform one time once more made the headlines as President George W. Bush narrowly won the electoral ballot but had lost the popular ballot.
This triumph raised a batch of inquiries and even the former Senator Hillary Clinton called for a constitutional amendment that would let for the choice of the President to be through popular ballot and non the electoral ballot. It is clear that this step did non base on balls yet it surely did convey to the consciousness of the public the necessity of reexamining the issue of Electoral College Reform. Professionals and Cons It stands to ground why such a system. which has been in topographic point for so long and been the ground for the election of several Presidents. should be replaced with an antediluvian election manner.
In order to get at a better apprehension of the issue. it is of import to first discourse the concerns of the Electoral College system. This is with the end of turn outing that there is a demand for Electoral College Reform and the acceptance of the Congressional District method which is being used in Maine and Nebraska. The first ground is that it is argued that the system of Electoral College Reform does non accurately reflect the sentiment of the populace.
This is because as the illustrations in the recent elections have shown an person can still be declared as the President of the United States even if he or she does non hold the support of the bulk or the popular ballot. Under the Electoral College system. every bit long as the campaigner enjoys the support of the States with the heaviest weight. he is virtually assured of triumph. This is because of the fact that the framers of the Constitution sought for equality in representation and wanted to guarantee that the electors in the sparsely populated provinces would hold more weight as compared to those in the more dumbly populated provinces.
This was done to guarantee that those in smaller provinces would be able to be heard and have representation. This was besides done to guarantee that the bulk would non overpower the minority. Another curious facet of the Electoral System is that a campaigner can win the election if he so happens to roll up wins in many provinces that are comparatively little in size even if his opposition is able to acquire larger wins in smaller provinces. The ground for this is that the Electoral System besides features the “winner take all” system which regulations that the proportion of the electoral ballot frequently bears small resemblance to the popular ballot.
The victor take alls system besides creates a few jobs because the smaller figure of electoral ballots creates a disagreement with the sum of random unit of ammunition offs which has been stated as an mistake. The presence of this mistake is besides debatable because most surveies have shown that it reduces voter turn out in countries and provinces where there are dominant parties. Sing that they are non able to swing the ballot either manner. certain electors do non even try to exert their right to vote for fright that it will wholly be for naught because of the Numberss involved.
Bing the minority party in the province. they are cognizant that if their province uses the Electoral College System they will be unable to rock the result of the election either manner. This is the ground why there is a elector apathy job in most of these provinces. Possibly the chief job with the Electoral College arises from the fact that in instance there is no campaigner who gets the bulk of the electoral ballots. it falls upon the House of Representatives to settle the issue. From this point entirely. it is clear that there are several branchings from such a method.
The first is that the consequences of the election will non count in any instance because it will be the House of Representatives that will find the victor. This may besides be interpreted as a state of affairs wherein the party which is able to acquire the most figure of seats in Congress will unquestionably find the result of the election. The ensuing partizan conflict is no longer representative of the will of the public but instead the will of a representation that does non efficaciously carry the blessing of the bulk of the voting populace.
The 2nd ground is because it frequently consequences in Equus caballus trading in order to find the following President of the United States. Since the House of Representatives is composed of several congresswomans. it boils down to trading ballots for grants when finding the leading of the state. This wholly disregards the electoral procedure and in a manner can be construed as thwarting the will of the voting public. As such. the full electoral procedure furuncles down to which side is able to derive more support for their campaigner and which campaigner is able to give more grants to the parties.
This is similar to events that transpired in 1824 and 1876. The leading of a state boils down to revenue enhancement steps and funding alternatively of what it is truly supposed to be approximately. the will of the voting public. This system besides creates another job by restricting the picks of the populace. Since it has been determined that the party which has a better web by and large wins. the Electoral System leaves out the alternate parties such as the progressives. In the past elections. it has been shown that it is merely the Republican or the Democratic Party that is able to field the campaigners.
While the broad party has shown more strength. the realistic campaigners are by and large from the two party systems which in consequence bound the picks of the voting populace. One of the other jobs in an Electoral College comes from the fact that there is a necessity for primary elections. This means that the long drawn out procedure of Elections is truly merely merely a procedure that was already more or less decided when the primaries were cast. As the recent elections have shown. when there are primary elections it already becomes clear where the popular ballots are and where the electoral strengths are.
This besides consequences in a defeat in the ballot and the will of the electorate because holding the primaries means that in most instances the ballots of the last provinces does non truly count. except when it is a truly close election but in most instances this is non frequently the instance. The ground for this is that the consequences of the elections have been decided because most of the campaigners have conceded even before all the ballots have been cast due to the projections of certain campaigners holding unsurmountable lead. The terminal impact of all of these negative facets is rather simple.
It means that the electoral procedure is frustrated and the right of the electors to be heard and do a difference with their ballot is disregarded. This is based on the fact that when the electoral procedure is determined before it is over it sends the signal that the ballot of those who have non voted is no longer necessary in finding the consequences. This may. in the long tally. lead to voter apathy and deficiency of support from certain provinces. From the point of position of the electoral procedure. it is non a existent electoral procedure because it does non let for the existent sentiments of the populace to be reflected.
Through the electoral procedure. the foundations of a democratic system go all the more apparent. The right of the people to vote and to take who they will elect as president is one of the of import foundations of a representative democratic system ( Lijphart 139 ) . Without these foundations in topographic point. there would be no manner to guarantee that the rights of the people are protected. The right to choose a representative ensures that everyone has a opportunity to be heard. In the wise words of Abraham Lincoln. Democracy is the authorities of the people. by the people and for the people.
