The Presidential Election Process Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Since the number of U. Representatives is based on population, more populous states have more electors. Te electors only take part in this one-time vote and are not responsible for any future legislative work. Tey is appointees of participating political parties and typically always vote in favor of their party s respective candidate. Historically, o four occasions the winning president did not receive the popular vote with the latest being the 2000 elections 17) when Al Gore lost to George W. Bush by a slim margin of Electoral College despite receiving a higher nationwide popular vote. Bush won 271 Electoral College votes, with a margin of only 1 vote above the minimum required. Te 2000 elections renewed the long held debate of why shouldn t U. ctizens be able to elect their President through popular vote rather than the current indirect statewide Electoral College method? Those who support the indirect Electoral College method maintains that it is not less democratic and is, in fact, abetter representation of the federal structure of the government. According to them, it reinforces federalism distributing popular will across individual states. The other advantages they cite related to federalism is that less populous states are given due representation on account of their Senate seats and abandoning the Electoral College would put them at a disadvantage. We will write a custom essay sample on The Presidential Election Process or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Federalism is the cornerstone of U. democracy and the argument is indeed strong. However, closer look reveals that it seems more an effort to maintain the status quo than to recognize that improvements in the system will bring it closer to democratic ideals. Federalism means that each administrative unit within the nation has a say in the overall decision making. Te Senate already ensures federalism by sending two members from every state regardless of their population size, aspect opponents of reform conveniently ignore. N law can be passed in the nation without being approved by the Senate. Another important aspect they overlook is the effect of the swing states in the current system which destroys their argument of federalism. Several states like California and Texas consistently vote for one party and receive very little campaigning attention. Sing states, contested is real and the result could go either way, receive most of campaigning attention and it is voters in these states which have the highest effect on the election result. So, it can be argued that, in reality, the current system results in a heavy tilt of focus towards these swing states (Dotinga 192-196) rather equality for the smaller states.