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Electoral College Vs Popular Vote

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The Electoral College and the Popular vote have been a part of U.S. history since the founding of our country itself even though the actually process of both systems have changed since the late 1700’s and early 1800’s when they were first implemented. The debate on these two-unique systems have been brought to light due to the recent 2016 Presidential Election between the Presidential Candidates, Senator Hilary Clinton(D) and Donald Trump(R), when Donald Trump(R) won the 2016 Presidential Election by winning the Electoral College vote, even though he lost the popular vote. The purpose of this essay is to explain both voting systems and explain both in the best and most detail possible, as well as my personal opinion on the two, and if the current …show more content…
For example, if elections were decided by popular vote, campaign strategies would be very different. If Trump had campaigned more effectively in California, for example, his popular vote deficit in that state would possibly not have been as large as it was. Clinton got 4.3 million more votes than Trump in California. In other words, if the state of California were excluded, Trump would win the popular vote by 1.5 million votes. Supporters of the electoral college system say that this was exactly the kind of scenario—i.e., one large state overriding the wishes of other states—that the current system was designed to handle (Electoral Vote vs. Popular Vote). While the Electoral College supporters of using, the electoral vote argue that it protects the rights of smaller states, critics say that the system is undemocratic because the number of electoral votes is not directly proportional to the population of the state (Electoral Vote vs. Popular Vote). So, either system has its strengths and flaws I just think that they both need to be revamped and reimagined for today’s …show more content…
And in our country’s early elections the Electoral College did work this way because electors were chosen either by the state legislatures or by popular vote within each state. However, the development and rising power of political parties transformed this process from the Fathers’ idealistic vision. Over time, electors were no longer chosen for their distinction as citizens, but for their loyalty to a particular party. Today, electors are chosen at state party conventions or are appointed directly by party leaders” (Getting the Votes and Getting Elected: The Popular Vote vs. The Electoral College).
Stating, how over time the system has changed and evolved into a process that the founding fathers weren’t able to conceive happening and didn’t establish a countermeasure for such instances and as such the system hurts and helps in varying ways over the course of it’s creation.
The Electoral College vs. The Popular vote will be a debate that will continue to go own until the flaws of both systems are addressed and changed for our changing society and with the people in mind, my hope is that the purpose of this essay was able to get my point across and shed some history on both voting

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