Electoral College
Even though The Electoral College is thought to provide stability in the election process, it is necessary to reevaluate its effectiveness as it is outdated and it does not always represent the vote of the people, either statewide or nationally.
2000 Presidential Election
Ignoring for the moment the part played by the United States Supreme Court how is it that George W. Bush won the 2000 Presidential Election with less then the popular vote? Mr. Bush earned 47.9% or 50,456,62 votes compared to Mr. Gore’s 48.4% or 50,996,582 votes. How is that possible? What happened is something called the Electoral College. Many people have heard of the Electoral College but few truly understand its function or origin. What was the idea behind the Electoral College? Why not just use the popular vote to elect a president? These are simple questions with slightly complicated answers. Even more complicated is the debate between those who wish to eliminate or revamp the Electoral College and those who wish to keep the status quo.
The Electoral College has been a hot topic of discussion for many years. The most memorable recent debate over the effectiveness of the Electoral College was during the 2000 Presidential Election between candidates George Bush and Al Gore. Due to the controversy during this election and a few others like it in this country’s election history, many people have come to believe that the Electoral College is an antiquated and ineffective process, but is it really?
Electing a President
The Electoral College was developed in 1787 as a compromise in order to put the election of a president in the hands of state electors. Much of the compromise was reached as the Founding Fathers tried to solve the problem of how to elect a president and limit the influence of the general electorate. At that time they feared the mob and its potential excesses similar to what was happening in France during those...
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