Rockridge High School

Taylor Ridge, Illinois

Teacher: Barbara Downey

 

Is It Really Necessary?
By Tara Atnip
12^th grade 

Abraham Lincoln had the lowest popular vote ever, but because of the Electoral College Lincoln won the election for presidency.  Where would we be today if the presidents Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt had lost the election because of the popular vote?  Over the years many have argued about abolishing or changing the Electoral College.  We have had the Electoral College for hundreds of years; it is inevitable that it requires changes.  Keeping the Electoral College is possible as long as the Electoral College is adjusted, not abolished.

 

          This past election between Al Gore and George Bush has had a dynamic effect on how people view the Electoral College process.  George Bush won the election but only after having a number of recounts and finally taking the election to the Supreme Court.  Delays such as the recounting in Florida have caused many people to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College.

 

          The Electoral College has a variety of pros and cons.  Many people defend the system by saying it contributes to the distribution of the popular support to elect a president. They also argue that the Electoral College system democratically reflects population centers by giving urban areas electoral power where most votes are.  It enhances the status of minority interests and contributes to the political stability of the

Nation by encouraging a two party system.  Supporters fear that the Electoral College thwarts any rising splinter parties such as those that have plagued many European democracies.

 

          Those who object to the Electoral College system object on these following grounds: the possibilities of electing a minority president and the risk of so-called “faithless” electors.  Faithless electors means that they defect from the candidate they are pledging or supporting.     The threat of faithless electors is that the candidate may lose one or two votes from the Electoral College, which happened in 1976.  A Republican elector in the state of Washington cast his vote for Ronald Reagan instead of Gerald Ford, the Republican.  Last of all, the Electoral College does not accurately reflect the national popular will. The objectors oppose a candidate winning the popular vote but losing the election on a technicality because they were short a couple of Electoral College votes.  The Electoral College has the potential to frustrate the popular will in choosing the president and vice-president.  This happened in the elections of 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000.

 

          Besides the advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College, proposals for change have been issued.  The State Proportional Representation (SPR) proposal is one of many that has surfaced during the election of 2000.  This states that the number of candidates’ votes they receive will distribute the Electoral College votes.  An example of this system would be what happens in the state of Maine.  There are four electoral votes that are counted in Maine. The SPR says that candidate A and B could both possibly win an electoral vote.  Then candidate C could come in and win the two bigger districts votes.  Basically the people are deciding which candidate they want by voting and every vote counts.  However, as with all plans, it has a few drawbacks.  Some people say it is unfair because of the two extra votes.

 

  Another issue is the campaign finance.  “Our campaign finance system is broken and needs fixing now…the American people deserve a better system, a system that rewards ideas, character and leadership, not the size of each candidate’s bank accounts,” declares Al Gore.  Gore supports the banning of soft money, reducing the costs of campaigns, free broadcast time for candidates, and full and immediate disclosure of campaign distributions.  To some extent we have to factor in if this will do more harm than good for the Electoral College. It has the nation split into three categories: the defenders, the objectors, and the undecided.

 

Democracy: a type of government by the people that allows them to elect representatives for our country.  We associate our right to express ourselves and help change the country with this one little word that everyone says daily.  “…We need a healthy democratic process.  A process in which everyone’s voice can be heard, where dissent is respected and candidates run on the strength of their ideas…” announces Bill Bradley.  Through the Electoral College the people are able to express their opinions about whom they believe should win.

 

Abolishing the Electoral College does not do any good.  The State Proportional Representation plan is a step towards creating a better election process.  Though this may not solve all the problems, at least it is a plan that can be put into action.  The Electoral College has lasted hundreds of years; it needs changing and with those required changes it shall last another hundred years.  So is it really necessary to abolish the electoral system? 

                                  Resources

 

America’s Future. “Articles: Issues: Campaign Finance Reform.”  20 Oct. 1999: On-line.  Internet. 

5 Jan.  2001. Available WWW: http://www.ourfuture.org/readarticle.asp? ID=522

Electoral College Primer.  “Electoral Pros and Cons.”  On-line.  Internet.  19 Dec. 2000.  Available WWW:  http: www.kog.harvard.edu/case3pt. /electoralhtml.

Holland Sentinel: Opinion.  “The Electoral College Still Makes Sense.”  10 Nov. 2000: On-line.  Internet 4Jan. 2001.  AvaiableWWW: http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/111000/opi-22.html

 

Questions for the Required Reading

 

1.     How and when did the US elect a president of different parties?  Name them and their respective parties.

In 1796 John Adams (Federalist) and Thomas Jefferson (Republican) were elected.  Adams won because a Republican changed his vote at the last minute.  Adams became President and Jefferson the Vice-President.

 

2.     Describe four ways that were suggested to elect the president between 1808 and 1846.

The first method was back in 1808.  Originally the candidates to be chosen by lot were to come from retiring Senators.  In 1816 the Direct Vote Plan was suggested.  The third suggestion was that four regions on a rotating basis choose the presidents in 1822.  The last was in 1826 the Automatic Plan.

 

3.     Name five US presidents who were elected with less than the popular vote. John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, John Quincy Adams, and Woodrow Wilson are five presidents who were elected with less than the popular vote.

 

4.     Describe the winner-take-all system.  Which states use this system? 

The winner-take-all system is where each state gets so many electoral votes and the candidate that wins the most votes receive all the electoral votes for that state.  Every state in the United States has this system except for Maine.  Its system distributes the votes by the number of votes the candidates each receive.

 

5.     When do electors vote and when are the results known? 

The first Monday after the second Wednesday in December is when the result is known.  The popular vote results are known in November and officially announced in January.

 

6.     What effect would substituting a direct popular vote for the Electoral College have on the third party candidates?  Why? 

It would cause the votes for the third party to increase because the majority of at least 40% wins.  In case of tie there would be a run-off between top two. 

 

7.     Give four arguments for and against a direct vote system.

Reasons for are: (1) ensures candidate with the greatest popular vote would win office for president; (2) gives equal weight to every vote; (3) reduces chance of fraud; and (4) encourages greater participation and place the election more fully into the hands of the people.

Reasons against are: (1) unfavored impact on two party system;  (2) Gives less voice to the poor non-voters; (3) Encourage minority parties; and (4) Candidate will win on special interest groups.

 

8.     Describe the differences between the district plan, the proportional plan, and the winner-take-all plan. 

The District plan divides election votes by candidates.  Proportional plan has all the votes by state and urban areas lose power.  The Winner-take-all plan means that the candidate gets all electoral votes. 

 

9.     State four points experts in 1969 agreed should be included in an ideal plan for electing U.S. presidents.

In 1969 the four points were; (1) The need for a quick decision and clear-cut winner; (2) The victor should be the peoples’ choice winner of the most popular votes; (3) The president-elect should have a mandate to govern, a legitimacy which comes from a good margin of victory; and (4) the ideal system should not undermine the two-party system.

 

10.Write a paragraph describing what is meant by one of the following: Shrinkage Phenomenon, Americans prefer pragmatists to ideologues, the people most likely to be represented, and Crisis is opportunity.

Crisis is opportunity.  This means that even though your life and country may be in chaos, you can still overcome the problem and turn it into a great success.  Lincoln and FDR both managed to make our nation better when we were in a period of great turmoil during the time of their election.  They learned the trick of always looking on the positive side and never giving up.  All crises can be turned into successes.