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Should the Electoral College be abolished?
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The Electoral College doesn't reflect the popular vote

The Electoral College fails to do what elections are fundamentally meant to do - to reflect what citizens want.

The Argument

The Electoral College does not reflect the popular will of voters under a normal democratic election. Instead, electors are appointed by individual states to cast votes on the electorates behalf. This indirect process does not always lead to the winner of the popular vote also winning the electoral college. This creates an inbuilt democratic deficit, where voters may end up with a president who does not command a majority of popular support yet still assumes all the powers of the office.

Counter arguments

Rising levels of polarisation amongst voters and political deadlock in the United States Congress makes it increasingly difficult to get rid of the Electoral College, particularly as both of the major parties have self-interest in its maintenance. To reform or get rid of the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment with two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and three quarters of states ratifying it, which has only happened twenty seven times since the United States was founded over two hundred years ago. There is currently not a majority in favour of abolishing the Electoral College. Therefore the time could be better used to address more pressing issues.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] The result of the Electoral College does not always reflect the result of the popular vote. [P2] Therefore, it is not fit for purpose and should be abolished.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] The abolition of the Electoral College does not have the level of support this would require.

References

This page was last edited on Monday, 9 Mar 2020 at 12:42 UTC

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