The United States is one of the oldest and most established democracies in the world. It is looked at as the pinnacle of freedom and as a nation that other democracies aspire to be like. America’s democratic traditions, while they have been somewhat amended over the centuries, have remained fairly constant since the nation became independent in the 18th century. Part of this tradition have remained the systems of Presidential Preference Elections and the Electoral College. In a Presidential Preference Election, citizens in every county go and vote for the candidate of a party of their choosing. In states with a Closed Primary Election, only members registered with a certain party are allowed to participate. In Open Primary states, voters registered as Independents are permitted to choose which party’s Presidential Preference Election they’d like to participate in. In a Blanket Primary Election, voters are permitted to elect candidates from each party regardless of the party they affiliate with. Upon voting for a certain candidate, delegates from each county level representing that candidate move to the state level. At a State Convention, delegates from each county vote for other delegates representing the candidates of their choice. Usually, the leading candidate in a certain state takes all the delegates for that state and moves to the National Convention, where delegates vote on which candidate will represent their respective parties. At this point, each party has a presidential candidate representing it, and the nation moves into the phase with the General Election. In this phase individuals vote for a candidate representing a certain party. After these votes are tallied up in each state, the process involving the Electoral College, a group of individuals selected by the parties they belong to, begins. After each state has voted, and now knows which candidate has received the majority of that state’s votes, all the electors of that state represent the winning party in what is called a winner takes all policy. However, in the states of Maine and Nebraska, this fails to be the case. In these states, the percent of the people who voted for a certain party are represented by that percent of electors. For example, say in Maine, 75 percent of voters voted for the Democrat candidate, and the other 25 percent voted for the Republican candidate. This means that three of Maine’s four electors would be Democrats while one would be Republican. In the December following a presidential election, all the Electors convene and vote for a candidate. Whoever takes the majority votes in this Electoral College election becomes the President. While this system of electing a President is a fairly democratic, it can be improved to become more fair to all the people in a nation by becoming more uniform, and by improving the Electoral College system by eliminating the “winner takes all” policy.
The system of Presidential Preference Elections, along with the Electoral College is currently fairly representative and democratic. The definition of a democratic system is one in which people vote in fair and frequent elections that result in a deliberate rule of law. With the current system, presidential elections are fairly frequent, because they happen on a four year basis. With term limits, presidents are kept in check and prevented from overstaying their welcome in the White House. Elections are also fairly fair. All individuals that are over 18 and are American citizens are permitted to vote. In the Presidential Preference Elections, their vote is what sends certain delegates to represent them on county, state, and national levels. With the General Elections, these votes are what determine each state’s electors. If the majority of a state’s popular votes are Republican, the electors from that state reflect that. Furthermore, the United States’ votes are counted and conducted in a systematic manner. Unlike many other nations around the world, America doesn’t cheat in the process of selecting a president; it uses the same system that has been utilized for centuries in a manner that is well known to the nation’s citizens and seems to be mostly free of corruption.
While the system of electing the president is somewhat democratic and representative, it can be improved. Firstly, it is unfair that different states have different policies in electing the same person for a federal position of office. Why is that 48 states have a winner takes all policy, while Maine and Nebraska have a system in which the minority parties gain more representation? For example, in a state like Texas, all the electors are almost always Republican, because the majority of popular voters are conservatives. This gives Democrats in such red states less representation, because through the winner takes all policy, their vote is never taken to the Electoral College. This also gives such Democrats less of an incentive to vote; they know the majority of the votes in their state will be Republican, so why would they want to put in the effort to go to a polling station and vote? There should be a system that is uniform throughout the country; this nation does not possess a completely equal form of government if individuals in certain states have more say than people in other states. The same should be the case with Presidential Preference Elections. Why is that some states have winner take all policies, while some have caucuses, and others have neither? And why does each state vote at a different time? There should be uniformity, even at this level. Every state should have the same system of electing a candidate from each party, and every state should vote at the same time, so that everyone has the same information about each candidate and is not influenced by votes in other states. A uniform system would also result in presidential candidates paying more attention to smaller states because they would have to spend less time and energy focusing on those with controversial or “important” systems, like the Iowa Caucus.
In order for the Electoral College system to be a happy medium between popular democracy and the Legislative Branch, like it was intended to be, everyone, even the minorities in each state, should be represented. For this to work, 48 states in this nation should do away with the winner takes all policy and adapt the system of proportional representation, like Maine and Nebraska have, so the liberals in Texas and the conservatives in California have votes that actually make a difference in the election of a President. In order to make this shift, everything can remain the same; the Presidential Preference Elections can stay, the Electoral College can stay, and the manner in which people vote can stay. Through a system in which everyone is represented in the Electoral College system, controversies over the number of direct votes a candidate obtained versus the number of Electoral College votes he or she obtained, as was the case in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, would be nearly eliminated as well.
The Electoral College along with aspects of the Presidential Preference Election, while they are disputed and considered by many a paradox to a democratic system, are important. Often times, ordinary citizens don’t feel confident in their votes, don’t take them seriously, and are not capable, for whatever reasons, to make an educated decision about which candidates to vote for. The Electoral College and the Presidential Preference Election allow those more in tune with the political system and the duties and responsibilities of the most powerful man on the planet to serve as sort of a check to the people’s vote. The Electoral College has the potential of being an extremely representative of the people with the elimination of a winner takes all policy and with the unanimous implementation of proportional representation, because America is all about making sure everyone’s voices, even the little guys’, are heard.
The system of Presidential Preference Elections, along with the Electoral College is currently fairly representative and democratic. The definition of a democratic system is one in which people vote in fair and frequent elections that result in a deliberate rule of law. With the current system, presidential elections are fairly frequent, because they happen on a four year basis. With term limits, presidents are kept in check and prevented from overstaying their welcome in the White House. Elections are also fairly fair. All individuals that are over 18 and are American citizens are permitted to vote. In the Presidential Preference Elections, their vote is what sends certain delegates to represent them on county, state, and national levels. With the General Elections, these votes are what determine each state’s electors. If the majority of a state’s popular votes are Republican, the electors from that state reflect that. Furthermore, the United States’ votes are counted and conducted in a systematic manner. Unlike many other nations around the world, America doesn’t cheat in the process of selecting a president; it uses the same system that has been utilized for centuries in a manner that is well known to the nation’s citizens and seems to be mostly free of corruption.
While the system of electing the president is somewhat democratic and representative, it can be improved. Firstly, it is unfair that different states have different policies in electing the same person for a federal position of office. Why is that 48 states have a winner takes all policy, while Maine and Nebraska have a system in which the minority parties gain more representation? For example, in a state like Texas, all the electors are almost always Republican, because the majority of popular voters are conservatives. This gives Democrats in such red states less representation, because through the winner takes all policy, their vote is never taken to the Electoral College. This also gives such Democrats less of an incentive to vote; they know the majority of the votes in their state will be Republican, so why would they want to put in the effort to go to a polling station and vote? There should be a system that is uniform throughout the country; this nation does not possess a completely equal form of government if individuals in certain states have more say than people in other states. The same should be the case with Presidential Preference Elections. Why is that some states have winner take all policies, while some have caucuses, and others have neither? And why does each state vote at a different time? There should be uniformity, even at this level. Every state should have the same system of electing a candidate from each party, and every state should vote at the same time, so that everyone has the same information about each candidate and is not influenced by votes in other states. A uniform system would also result in presidential candidates paying more attention to smaller states because they would have to spend less time and energy focusing on those with controversial or “important” systems, like the Iowa Caucus.
In order for the Electoral College system to be a happy medium between popular democracy and the Legislative Branch, like it was intended to be, everyone, even the minorities in each state, should be represented. For this to work, 48 states in this nation should do away with the winner takes all policy and adapt the system of proportional representation, like Maine and Nebraska have, so the liberals in Texas and the conservatives in California have votes that actually make a difference in the election of a President. In order to make this shift, everything can remain the same; the Presidential Preference Elections can stay, the Electoral College can stay, and the manner in which people vote can stay. Through a system in which everyone is represented in the Electoral College system, controversies over the number of direct votes a candidate obtained versus the number of Electoral College votes he or she obtained, as was the case in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, would be nearly eliminated as well.
The Electoral College along with aspects of the Presidential Preference Election, while they are disputed and considered by many a paradox to a democratic system, are important. Often times, ordinary citizens don’t feel confident in their votes, don’t take them seriously, and are not capable, for whatever reasons, to make an educated decision about which candidates to vote for. The Electoral College and the Presidential Preference Election allow those more in tune with the political system and the duties and responsibilities of the most powerful man on the planet to serve as sort of a check to the people’s vote. The Electoral College has the potential of being an extremely representative of the people with the elimination of a winner takes all policy and with the unanimous implementation of proportional representation, because America is all about making sure everyone’s voices, even the little guys’, are heard.