· respond to your classmates’ initial posts. Your peer responses should be substantive and at least 100 words each. For this discussion, respond to at least one peer who discussed a different stance regarding the Electoral College than you did for this assignment. This will allow you to discuss counterarguments and support the position you discussed. As your reply to your classmates, attempt to take the conversation further by examining their claims or arguments in more depth or responding to the posts that they make to you. Keep the discussion on target and try to analyze things in as much detail as you can.
PEERS POST:
Electoral College is composed of electors from and for each state, one elector per state representative, which depends on the state’s population. The electors are elected according to each states’ law and their votes decide the presidential election. The Electoral votes are sent in after popular votes are casted. Popular votes are the votes from the people, essentially resulting in voting for which elector will represent the people based on the likely candidate he/she will support (Fine & Lein-Waldman, 2016). Not for the presidential candidate per se. As we read and watched videos, it is rare that the Electoral College will go against what the people’s votes are, but it has happened.
“In the presidential election of 1876, Samuel Tilden, a Democrat from New York, won the popular vote over Republican Rutherford B. Hayes from Ohio” (Fine & Lein-Waldman, 2016). This meant the people’s majority vote won over the Electoral College votes. As the text explains, this too is a rare site, but has happened and is currently still possible.
Though I do appreciate the cartoon video in our text breaking down what the majority of people think, and feel come election time, I am against the Electoral College. This process is extremely outdated and just like a lot of United States’ laws and policies, this too needs to be updated. I do however see how the government doesn’t want the votes of the presidential candidates in the hands of voters, but as I’ve read so far, it’s taking rights away from the people. My biggest disagreement is, though rare, the power is still in the hands of the electors and which candidate they feel should win. This is taking the power from a majority number and putting it in the hands of 538 individuals. I would believe the only time Electoral College would be beneficial is if a state’s popular vote were to be a tie. To be honest, this is what I used to think the point of electors were.
-Tabatha
References:
– Fine, T. S., & Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2016).
American government
(2nd ed.). Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu/
