preserve the electoral College
Regardless of what seems like failures of the Electoral College in some recent elections, it still may be the best and most effective way to elect the President.
One of the most ardent defenses of the Electoral College, and one of the reasons cited for it being created in the first place, is that it empowers smaller states in the Union. The Electoral College gives more power to small (that is, low population) states because it makes sure that presidential candidates will not ignore them when campaigning. Because low-population states in theory have just as much power as those with large populations, they will not be left out. Examples of such low-population states are pictured to the left.
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It is argued in one Slate article that voters in swing states, states that don't vote for the same political party from election to election, are likely to be more thoughtful and informed in their vote because they know that theirs are truly the ones that matter. Therefore, since they are the most thoughtful, their votes should influence the outcome of the election, which, as of right now, it does. If the Electoral College was changed in any way, this would no longer be the case. Typical swing states are highlighted on the map to the right. Those in blue and purple represent states won by Barack Obama in the 2012 election.
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Because these states don’t always vote for the same party, candidates pay particular attention to these states and always make sure to make campaign stops there. This encourages voters to be informed about the candidates platforms so they are prepared when the candidates visit.
The idea of a runoff election is something that has been proposed to revise the Electoral College, but this Slate article, mentioned above, celebrates the fact that we currently don't need one. The Electoral College makes it so that someone will always have a majority of votes (except for the Election of 1800, when the ballots for president and vice president were not separated as they should have been). Because someone will always have the majority of the electoral votes, a runoff election is not needed, as it used only when a majority is not attained by any candidate.
The Electoral College has worked (for the most part) since the creation of our country, so why should we change it now?
The idea of a runoff election is something that has been proposed to revise the Electoral College, but this Slate article, mentioned above, celebrates the fact that we currently don't need one. The Electoral College makes it so that someone will always have a majority of votes (except for the Election of 1800, when the ballots for president and vice president were not separated as they should have been). Because someone will always have the majority of the electoral votes, a runoff election is not needed, as it used only when a majority is not attained by any candidate.
The Electoral College has worked (for the most part) since the creation of our country, so why should we change it now?