Is The Electoral College Accredited And Trustworthy?

Corruption: The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse; departure from what is pure, simple, or correct; as, a corruption of style; corruption in language. —Webster, 1913 

Electoral College, which has several flaws, some of which are: Instead of voting for presidential candidates, this system forces us (we the people) to vote for electors without even letting us know who the electors are because their names are not printed on the ballot.

A Florida elector

Electors aren't trustworthy to count all votes fairly or properly thus making the loser appointed president while governors, congress-members, senators (federal and state) and all other elected officials are elected by popular votes; the highest office in the nation (president) also must be decided by popular vote, but the electoral college prohibits popular votes to decide the U.S. Presidency.

Should congressional representatives in the House and Senate abolish the electoral college? Recognize that this will take a concerted effort, as it deals directly with amending our Constitution, but I urge Congress to take on this important task on behalf of the American people.

The electoral college is an archaic system that has been historically wrought with corruption, with votes being exchanged behind closed doors for political favor, in direct contradiction to the expressed will of the people. The American people assume that the electoral college will cast it's vote in accordance with their expressed will via the popular vote, but on too many occasions this has not happened. 

 

The result is a growing sense of disenfranchisement among American citizens, who feel their vote is not important, because the electoral college will arbitrarily choose the president regardless of the popular vote. This harms not only our right to self determination but has become a barrier against active participation in our government to many Americans by incurring in them a sense of having no real voice in their democratic government, thereby discouraging them from taking an active part in self governance as envisioned by our founding fathers.

Abolition this outdated system, with full respect accorded to one person, one vote, as exists in other democracies around the globe. Other nations should not be the ones leading the way in recognizing the right of the people to determine their own course. The United States of America should be leading the way, not giving a select few the awesome power to determine the course of the many in potentially direct opposition to the expressed will of the people in the popular vote. Too often this power has been abused, and it most assuredly will be again sometime in the future. 

How different a presidential election would be if the electoral college did not exist! Then the mind of every individual voter in the country would be a contested battleground right up until election day. But now, if you live in a state where the majority of voters are certain to go in one direction, your vote for the other side counts for zilch.

Thomas Jefferson hated the electoral college, but Alexander Hamilton, who believed that fewer “informed” people should choose the President and Vice-president, carried the day. In the late 1700’s, there was a certain practicality to Hamilton's idea; the nation outside the cities was mainly frontier then, with limited education, no mass communication, and tedious land transportation.

Obviously, the original use and intent of the electoral college has disappeared. It became obsolete with the invention of the telegraph, absurd when the railroads spanned the continent, and ridiculous with the advent of global satellite communication. Bright seventh-graders who watch CNN have more facts at their fingertips than the electoral college had in 1792.

If the college were structured to reflect the actual will of the people, it would be no more than a harmless anachronism. But it is not structured that way. And because it is not, it has become a means by which political strategists may ignore millions of votes in states “safe” for their candidates, and remains a possible way to subvert the will of the majority.

 What happens if the electoral vote is tied 270 to 270? The answer lies in the Twelfth Amendment:

"From the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by state, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to choose."

Has this ever happened? Yes. In 1800 the Democratic-Republican electors gave Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr equal numbers of electoral votes. The tie was settled in Jefferson’s favor by the House of Representatives in accordance with the original design of the Electoral College system and, if fact, was the reason for the adoption of the 12th Amendment which effectively prevented this sort of thing from ever happening again.

In its 200-year history, the Electoral College has had its share of critics and proposed reforms. But it also has staunch defenders (although perhaps less vocal than its critics). Those who object to the Electoral College and favor direct election of the president generally do so on four grounds:

• The possibility of electing a minority president;

• The risk of so-called "faithless" electors;

• The possible role of the Electoral College in depressing voter turnout; and

• The possible failure to accurately reflect the national popular will.

In response to these arguments proponents of the Electoral College point out that it was never intended to reflect the national popular will, What ever that means, and they defend the College’s role on philosophical grounds:

• It contributes to the cohesiveness of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support to elected president;

• It enhances the status of minority interests;

• It contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two-party system; and

• It maintains a federal system of government and representation.

So Is our Electoral college corrupt ? Do you think it should be eliminate and just go on the popular vote ? I Do.


                                   Romney  -  319    Romney wins   51%

                                  Obama    -   244    Obama Loose   48%