Kadoka High School
Kadoka, South Dakota
Teacher: Teresa Shuck
The Election Process
By Kim Leach
Grade 11
Throughout the past there has been many disagreements about the elector votes. Many people disagree how the voting was done. Some think in was unorganized while others thought it was fine. Voting should stay the same.
Electoral College votes have been
around for many years now. It is a simple
process for each state to do. It is the best
way to vote. I think it should stay as the
Electoral College votes.
Electoral College votes are the
best for each state. I think we should change
the fact so that each state has the same amount of electoral votes. I do not think it is fair for one state to have
one while another has fifty-six. That is not
fair to the smaller state. It is just saying
the smaller states vote doesn’t count compared to the larger states.
The Electoral College votes and
also don’t use the peoples input on the election.
It has the state vote so the people who vote do not have any input on the election. I think we should try to change this so we, the
people, can have our voices heard by not only our states but by our country.
“The electoral college method
of electing a president of the United States is archaic, undemocratic, complex, ambiguous,
indirect and dangerous,” according to William Gossett, the American Bar Association
president in 1968. He pointed out that in
fifteen elections, a shift of less than one percent are distributed among states according
to the decennial census, which quickly becomes outdated.
Still others say the Electoral College endangers the two-party system and
encourages third party strategy to win concessions from major candidates.
The American Institute of Public
Opinion asked before and after the 1968 election, “Would
you approve or disapprove of an amendment to the Constitution, which would do away with
the Electoral College and base the election of a president on the total vote cast
throughout the nation?”
An amendment to abolish the
Electoral College system, almost identical to the Bayh Plan, passed the House 339 to 70
and it looked as if the 91st Congress was going to resolve this on-going issue. However, the Senate failed to follow through and
the furor over electoral reform continued into 1970.
Opponents could not accept the unfavorable impact and the direct-vote plan would
have on the two-party system. They thought
the direct vote would encourage minority parties because there would be a greater
probability that two major parties would not receive a majority. They maintained the Bayh Plan would make actual
voting more important than population and would give less voice to the poor non-voters
represented by the weighted urban vote. A
candidate, if elected on popular vote alone, could conceivable win on the votes of special
interests; for example, on labor vote, business vote, pro-life vote or, as Richard Nixon
and Spiro Agnew did in 1968, on the law and order vote.
Over the years many people believe
that education makes political and voting easier to understand and is the single most
important variable in increasing citizen participation in the election process. This is very true in the ballots. People need to know how to read properly to
understand what the ballots say and how to fill them out.
That is considered to be the most important in filling out the ballot.
Voting is a complicated thing that
most people do not understand. If you have to
most educational things then you should probably have an education before you can vote. Education comes in very important in this case. The archaic, and undemocratic is something most
people do not understand. To vote it would be
wise to know what these words mean, and how to read would be helpful.
A question to consider is should
the popular vote be aggregated. This needs to
be considered by the entire country. Existing
Electoral College and automatic plans say by states themselves. The district plan says by state subdivision. The Proportional plan says by party vote by states
and the direct-vote plan said by the entire nation.
The emphasis on local
constituencies, on bringing government home to people and giving greater sense of worth to
individual citizens is either a plus or a minus depending on your political philosophy. The biggest problem lies with the increased
incentive to gerrymandering. District lines
would become more important than ever, opening areas of potential contention. In 1970, Sayre and Parrish feared the district
plan would reverse the system which has always ensured that the winner in our presidential
contests has received a greater margin in electoral than in popular votes, and that it
would make presidential races closer, possible throwing more decisions to Congress and
this undermining the presidency. They warned
that a vote for the district plan would be a vote against the balance of power, which
makes our system of government unique.
The Electoral College is the way
we should keep on voting. There are ways it
could improve the popular vote. The voting
has changed over the years but mainly the same procedure is used. A person has to have a good education to know how
to vote. You should also be able to read and
fill out the ballot correctly. I have told
you about the Electoral College and the education you need.
1. How and when did the United States elect a president and vice president of different parties? Name them and their respective parties.
In 1796 John Adams, a Federalist, was elected as President. His vice president, Thomas Jefferson was a Republican. This happened because the ballots did not clarify which was president and which was vice president.
2. Describe four ways that were suggested to elect the President between 1808 and 1846.
Lot first surfaced the fist way. The second is first-direct vote plan. The third plan was by being chosen by four regions on a rotating basis. The last way used was by proposal was by Electoral College votes.
3. Name five U.S. Presidents who were elected with less than a popular vote.
John Quincy Adams 1824
J. Polk 1844
Z. Taylor 1848
J. Buchanan 1856
Abraham Lincoln 1860
4. Describe the winner-take-all system. Which states use this system?
Winner take all system is when ethnic minorities win while the small rural areas does not really have a choice. All states use this procedure except Maine. The proportional plan is when there is close to have the majority wins. They do the counting by proportions.
5. When do electors vote and when are the results know?
The first Monday after the second Wednesday in December is when they vote. In January the votes are counted before both Houses.
6. What affects would substituting direct popular vote for the Electoral College have on third party candidates? Why?
It would make it more at edge on who gets the office. It would do that because correct about federal system but wrong in saying that the plan would assure victory.
7. Give four arguments for and against a direct vote system.
The first one would be District lines would become more important. The second argument would be it should not be enough to carry the popular vote. The third is it would leave some states without choice. The last would be distortions, which occur because electoral votes are distributed among the states according to decennial census.
The proportional plan is when there is close to have the majority wins. They do the counting by proportions. The winner-take-all sys
8. Describe the differences between the district plan, the proportional plan and the winner-take all plan.
The district plan is designed forever district to vote and then send the votes into the state. The proportional plan is when there is close to have the majority wins. They do the counting by proportions. The winner-take-all system gives too much leverage to popular votes in low turn out states. It gives most of the leverage to larger states.
9. State the four points experts in 1969 agreed should be included in an ideal plan for electing U.S. President.
In 1969 advocates claimed that with such system it would give equal weight to every vote and do away with the faithless elector problem.
10. Write a paragraph describing what is meant by one of the following: The people most likely to be under represented.
The people most likely to be under represented would be the people who aren't that popular or are unknown. These people usually do not have the self-confidence to go out and do something on their own. Self-confidence is needed to be represented in something.