American Government and Politics Today Research Paper

American Government and Politics Today - Research Paper Example However some proponents support the electoral college as a good system and therefore need no reform. This essay explores the proponents’ arguments for electoral college Reforms and why some people think it should not be reformed. Electoral College Reform The system of electing the presidents through the use of an electoral college is considered an outdated mechanism of an electoral process, and therefore need to be reformed. It is seen to deny the citizens the voice to choose a leader of their choice as the selected group forming the electoral colleges that represent the larger group may be compromised and not elect the leader who is popular with the rest of citizens (Formisano 193). It is also prone to interference by the independent candidates. It should therefore be reformed and replaced by a system of direct election of a presidential candidate with an instant runoff if the clear winner is not produced. This will give every citizen a chance to vote and elect a leader of th eir choice. The electoral college system also needs a reform in order to replace it with a system where the electorate are allowed to vote directly with a popularity rule system where every voter will be given an opportunity to cast one vote for a preferred candidate. The candidate who gets the most votes will be declared the automatic winner. This system is seen to reflect the will of the people as opposed to the Electoral College system where voting is a representation of third parties. Direct voting system will also eliminate the Electoral College’s system that essentially dilutes the votes of the people as it is prone to compromise and betrayal by the third parties. The Electoral College system needs to be reformed to such an extent as to be replaced with a system that is democratic; one that reflects the people’s wishes. This is because with the Electoral College system which in some cases involves maximization of power by assigning all the representative votes to the winner with most votes is so undemocratic. This in most cases result in a situation where a candidate who wins the nationwide popular votes, still looses in an electoral college. This has been witnessed in the United States elections in recent years (Stromberg 769). The electoral college system only see presidential candidates concentrate on key vote battle grounds, this makes them consider only the interests of a few voters found on those key states ignoring other states. It should therefore be replaced with the direct popular voting system where the candidates are forced to carry out vigorous campaigns across the whole country. This will promote democracy and allow for equal participation across the country. It will also promote high voter turn-outs and eliminate voter apathy associated with the electoral colleges system. This is because voters will be assured that their votes make a difference in choosing the candidate of their choice. However, reforming the electoral system is arguably a bad idea according to Rohwer (215). The proponent of the electoral college system argue that the system avoids the instance of a presidential run off. In many instances a winner is declared as soon as the result shows that the candidate has the majority votes as the provisional results in most cases are ignored. The direct popular system of election is also seen to interfere with the federal system of