When evaluating the arguments raised on both sides it I believe that the Electoral College should be replaced by a national popular vote. An argument that exposes the weakness of the Electoral College and why it should be replaced by a national popular vote is because the ‘winner takes all’ system distorts the results of the elections. There have been various results in which the popular vote did not reflect the results of the Presidential election. A notorious example of how distorted results can be under the Electoral College is that of Bush and Al Gore in 2000. Though Al Gore won the popular vote by 48.4% Bush won the votes of the Electoral College which resulted in him winning the Presidential election.
The Founding Fathers knew during their time that people running for congress lived closer to the people voting for them, so at that time, the people voted directly for them but only for them. This was because word didn’t travel as fast back then and information was not as accessible. But in 1913, the seventeenth amendment let the people vote for senators. We now directly vote for senators and congressmen, but not our president. Durbin thinks this is an age-old process and should be changed.
However P.R made it difficult for a lot of parties to gain a majority of seats in the Reichstag, which made it harder for one major party to take control of the country. This P.R system made it a coalition government whereby the country is ruled by many parties together having to make joint decisions, therefore made it more difficult to compromise and lead to a weaker government resulting to further elections, making the constitution unstable. Furthermore Universal male suffrage enabled men over the age of 20 to vote in an election. This included the upper, middle and working classes, which made parties competitive. However as there were so many parties only the ones with the most convincing views and issues that effected the general population became major for example, the Communists, Socialists and Democrats, which were aimed for, change and equality.
This is criticised because the current political party in power have the ability to make their own decisions for the UK before listening to what the people want. This then becomes a problem because they may make changes that the majority of the population will not agree with. However, near to the next election they may decide to listen to people as they want them to vote for them (the current political party in power) during the next election. Secondly, the UK has a hereditary monarchy and a house of lords, both which are not elected. This contradicts a democratic society and is seen as a dictatorship because elections are the cornerstone of a democracy.
Maya Austell March 6, 2012 American History II Book review on 1912 Election and the Power of Progressivism The election of 1912 was a rare four-way contest. All four candidates ultimately had the same goals and similar qualities of Progressivism but quite different ways of moving towards it. Brett Flehinger states “Although Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Debs, and others disagreed fundamentally on a number of issues, their debates focused on a central question: How should American society respond to the swift and sweeping social and political changes brought on by the development of this new corporate economy.” (pg. 21) Before President Theodore Roosevelt left office, he picked William Howard Taft to be his successor and helped get him elected. William Howard Taft was nominated by the support of Republicans and the conservative wing.
Another problem was that even though there are anti-discrimination policies, a slight differential treatment towards minorities is still present. Employers expect and demand more input from minority groups and that is why people are hesitant to leave their workplace to cast a vote (Rivers, 2012). An outside source looks at voting from a different perspective. An interestingly opposing statistic is that minority groups with higher education and social status take the time to participate, as voting is very important to them. They want to take part in the choice of their government because it took so long and so much effort for them to receive the equal rights and abilities to enjoy democracy (Speel, 2010).
Illegal votes minimize citizen’s rights in the Constitution and it undermines our democracy that was established and preached by the founding fathers; therefore a solution for this loophole should be quickly tied and these actions no longer tolerable or allowed under the 14th amendment. As citizens of the US, we have a right stated in the 1st amendment to be able to express our opinions; our values and beliefs should be directly represented through the voting process. Although future elections are predicted to be heavily influenced by this growing minority population, politicians are beginning to apprehend the negative brunt illegal immigration has bestowed upon our country as this could be a small factor in the current struggling economy. Congressman Tom Tancredo has vast prospective ideas on how to reform our immigration system. By working across the aisle a feasible and successful solution to the straining liability and encumbrances may be obtained to make our country incorrupt and hospitable to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness to the citizens of the United State of
This means that it is very important to choose a nominee who would be reflecting president’s political philosophy in the Court. However, if Senate decides that candidate is far too ‘extreme’ in their views or has been working with the president in the past, they might decide to strike the nominee down. For example Robert Bork’s critics regarded him as being both too conservative and too closely associated
‘If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.’ Discuss with reference to the electoral systems used for national elections in the UK and USA. The first past the post systems used in both the USA and the UK unquestionably have the potential to produce election results that are not representative of the break down of total votes in an election, providing results that don’t reflect voter wishes. One may argue that the electoral systems used in both the USA and UK marginalize minorities, causes wasted, insignificant votes and promote voter apathy. However despite the numerous criticisms of first past the post it has continued to be the system in place to decide the President in the USA and dictate which party forms government, and thus which party leader becomes Prime Minister in the UK, suggesting the system has its advantages. Proponents of the UK and US voting methods also often cite the lack of a credible alternative as a reason for the retention of the current systems.
Lindsey Byrd Comp 1 MW 1:00-2:40 10-12-2012 Process Essay Presidential Campaign Every four years, there is an immense event that happens in the United States, which is concerned with the future of America and that event is known as the Presidential Election. Voting is a very important means for the American citizen to manage the affairs of the state and supervise the government. Citizens can exert their political rights and express their view through the right to vote. A United States presidential election is the key event in a lengthy process that begins almost as soon as a new president is inaugurated. In order for one to become president of the United States, he or she must gain the votes from the public; however, this