Michael Reiter
Mr Turturici
Historical Literacy
Period 1
Would you want to play a game where the person who loses could still be declared the winner? This is exactly the kind of unfair "game" our presidential elections have become thanks to the Electoral College, and Americans have a right to expect more. For example, the Electoral College gives people in a state's political minority little incentive to vote. Additionally, the Founding Fathers' fear of letting people vote directly for president does not make sense in our modern democracy. Not only that, but the Electoral College system encourages presidential candidates to focus on a few states and ignore the rest. These reasons show why the president should be elected by popular vote.
The Electoral College gives people in a state's political minority little incentive to vote. In fact, for some citizens, voting for president feels like a waste of time. As New York Republican John Smith has said, "Republicans are completely outnumbered in my state, so I feel like my vote doesn't count ". Additionally, more people vote in close elections where every vote could make a difference. During the 2004 presidential election, more people voted when the races were close and their vote could have made a difference .
The Founding Fathers' fear of letting people vote directly for president does not make sense in our modern democracy. Our Founding Fathers did not envision that one day we would try to make sure every child got a quality education. But today, every state has compulsory education laws, which means modern citizens are more educated. Furthermore, in modern times, it's easy for voters to Find unbiased, wholesome information on the candidates . Census data in 2010 showed 96.7% of U.S households owned a TV set.
The Electoral College system encourages presidential candidates to focus on a few states and ignore the rest. To quote the Harvard Journal on legislation, "The campaigns spent 1% of their political advertising money in two thirds of the states, no money in 23 states, and 72% of their money in 5 battleground states. Not only that, but during the 2008 presidential campaign, the presidential candidates went around the country to talk to voters. However, the majority of visits were in only 2 states!
Some would argue the Electoral College prevents candidates from ignoring smaller states and only visiting places with large populations, but the Electoral College system actually causes candidates to focus on states with lots of electoral votes. For example, in 2008, 24 states got zero or one visits, while two states got over 30 visits each. While candidates may need support even from smaller states with not a lot of electoral votes, in order to win, candidates actually don't even have to visit the places with big populations in most states. In the 2004 presidential campaign, only 1% of campaign funds were spent among two-thirds of the state's, while a whopping 72% of funds were spent in 5 states! . Presidential candidates should not be able to only win eleven states and still win an election.
American citizens should be able to vote for the president directly, and not risk invalidating their vote if the other party wins.. The Electoral College does not belong in a democracy. Citizens today are perfectly capable of making an educated vote based on valid facts and statistics. American citizens should not have to put up with their vote just "not counting¨ The American people do not want a system that allows the candidate who loses the election to become president anyway. Citizens should contact their representatives and demand that the Electoral College be abolished.
Mr Turturici
Historical Literacy
Period 1
Would you want to play a game where the person who loses could still be declared the winner? This is exactly the kind of unfair "game" our presidential elections have become thanks to the Electoral College, and Americans have a right to expect more. For example, the Electoral College gives people in a state's political minority little incentive to vote. Additionally, the Founding Fathers' fear of letting people vote directly for president does not make sense in our modern democracy. Not only that, but the Electoral College system encourages presidential candidates to focus on a few states and ignore the rest. These reasons show why the president should be elected by popular vote.
The Electoral College gives people in a state's political minority little incentive to vote. In fact, for some citizens, voting for president feels like a waste of time. As New York Republican John Smith has said, "Republicans are completely outnumbered in my state, so I feel like my vote doesn't count ". Additionally, more people vote in close elections where every vote could make a difference. During the 2004 presidential election, more people voted when the races were close and their vote could have made a difference .
The Founding Fathers' fear of letting people vote directly for president does not make sense in our modern democracy. Our Founding Fathers did not envision that one day we would try to make sure every child got a quality education. But today, every state has compulsory education laws, which means modern citizens are more educated. Furthermore, in modern times, it's easy for voters to Find unbiased, wholesome information on the candidates . Census data in 2010 showed 96.7% of U.S households owned a TV set.
The Electoral College system encourages presidential candidates to focus on a few states and ignore the rest. To quote the Harvard Journal on legislation, "The campaigns spent 1% of their political advertising money in two thirds of the states, no money in 23 states, and 72% of their money in 5 battleground states. Not only that, but during the 2008 presidential campaign, the presidential candidates went around the country to talk to voters. However, the majority of visits were in only 2 states!
Some would argue the Electoral College prevents candidates from ignoring smaller states and only visiting places with large populations, but the Electoral College system actually causes candidates to focus on states with lots of electoral votes. For example, in 2008, 24 states got zero or one visits, while two states got over 30 visits each. While candidates may need support even from smaller states with not a lot of electoral votes, in order to win, candidates actually don't even have to visit the places with big populations in most states. In the 2004 presidential campaign, only 1% of campaign funds were spent among two-thirds of the state's, while a whopping 72% of funds were spent in 5 states! . Presidential candidates should not be able to only win eleven states and still win an election.
American citizens should be able to vote for the president directly, and not risk invalidating their vote if the other party wins.. The Electoral College does not belong in a democracy. Citizens today are perfectly capable of making an educated vote based on valid facts and statistics. American citizens should not have to put up with their vote just "not counting¨ The American people do not want a system that allows the candidate who loses the election to become president anyway. Citizens should contact their representatives and demand that the Electoral College be abolished.