What are arguments in support of the electoral college

Reference no: EM133622557

Case: Most democratic nations on earth elect their presidents by direct popular vote, but that was never the American system and still is not. We use the so-called "Electoral College" system to choose our president. Today this means that 538 Electors drawn from the states and the District of Columbia speak for the rest of us...

... the Electoral College has periodically produced winners who clearly lost the national popular vote to an opponent. In at least five presidential elections-1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016-the presidential candidate who won the popular vote lost in the Electoral College.

For example, in the disputed election of 2000, Vice President Al Gore received over 500,000 more votes than Governor George W. Bush did nationally. However, he lost to Bush in the Electoral College by a vote of 266 to 271, after the Supreme Court intervened. Many people believe that the ability to carry the whole election by capturing this or that state increases the likelihood of strategic mischief and corruption in the electoral process.

... Supporters of the Electoral College credit it with preserving an important dimension of state-based federalism in our presidential elections. They argue that it works to guarantee that our Presidents will have nationwide support.

Critics argue that it assigns most states in the Union to "spectator" status in presidential elections and drags down voter turnout in these states. Critics also claim the Electoral College reduces the real field of play to fewer than a dozen "swing states," and dramatically polarizes the nation's politics.

What are arguments in support of the Electoral College? (Hint: look for "supporters...")

What are arguments in opposition to the Electoral College? (Hint: look for "critics...")

Reference no: EM133622557

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