Annabelle Gensler

Period 5

The efforts of the government alone will never be enough. In the end, the people
must chose, and the people must help themselves. -John F. Kennedy. This quote
explains it all, although the government is powerful, the voice of the voters is what
determines the winner of any election. Thankfully, the electoral college allows the
United States to keep it this way: all in the hands of the citizens. The electoral college
has been in place for about 200 years now, and of course it's had its faults. Yet still, to
this day, it is functioning, as its problems continue to be worked through overtime. The
system works like so: Throughout the United States, there are a total of 538 electors,
and a candidate must receive at least 270 of those electors to become elected. The
amount of electors varies between the states, as the population does as well. Most
states in America have a winner takes all system, and the only states where the voting
system is proportional representation are Maine and Nebraska. These two states are
the only states where all votes are counted towards a nominee, unlike states with a
winner takes all system, were only to majority (electoral votes) are counted. Overall,
there are many more reasons why the electoral college should stay in place, when
compared to the idea that it should be abolished. The system was created to give voters
more of a voice, which it does. The electoral college also creates a lesser chance of
third party candidates and faithless voters from becoming elected. Lastly, the electoral
college gathers people, and gives American citizens a sense of unity. As a result of
these advantages, the electoral college should not be abolished.

Since the beginning of Democracy, there has always been two main parties, and
a third party trailing along with the two. However, the first two parties within the
two-party system, were the Republicans, and the Whigs. The last time a third party
candidate was elected, was in 1860 when democrat Abraham Lincoln became the 16th
president of the United States. This third party candidate was elected over 150 years
ago, and this happens for a reason. Overtime, third parties have become faithless, and
unorganized, with very little funding and popularity. These parties are often a mess
because without funding, the party cannot pay for an organizational structure and staff
that would help the party stay coordinated, and run smoothly. Thankfully, the electoral
college creates a lesser chance of a third party to become elected. In 2014, the Green
party had a total of 248,189 registered voters (Green Party - Ballotpedia). On the other
hand, in 2014, the Republican party had a total of 43% of the American population. This
percent equals out to 136,310,000 registered voters (Political Party Strength in U.S
States). In addition to the number of voters, when green party website and republican
website were compared, one could easily see how unorganized the green party is. Both
parties shared their opinions, beliefs, and solutions to our nation's economy, and the
results were astonishing. The green party told what they believed and how they planned
on improving, but unlike the republican site, they showed no evidence that they had the
capabilities of executing their plans. Below is the Green party's plans for improving the
economy.
We support redesigning our work structures to encourage employee ownership
and workplace democracy. We support developing new economic activities and
institutions that allow us to use technology in ways that are humane, freeing, ecological,
and responsive and accountable to communities. We support establishing a form of
basic economic security open to all. We call for moving beyond the narrow 'job ethic' to

new definitions of 'work,' 'jobs' and 'income' in a cooperative and democratic economy.
We support restructuring our patterns of income distribution to reflect the wealth created
by those outside the formal monetary economy those who take responsibility for
parenting, housekeeping, home gardens, community volunteer work, and the like. We
support restricting the size and concentrated power of corporations without discouraging
superior efficiency or technological innovation (Ten Key Values).
On the other hand, the Republican Party shares this information about their plans
for improving the economy. Below each of the points and plans on the site are two or
more paragraphs describing how the party plans on executing their ideas:

Fair and Simple Taxes for Growth

Our Tax Principles
A Competitive America
A Winning Trade Policy
Freeing Financial Markets
Responsible Homeownership and Rental Opportunities
America on the Move
Building the Future: Technology
Building the Future: Americas Electric Grid
Start-up Century: Small Business and Entrepreneurship
The Federal Reserve
Workplace Freedom for a 21st Century Workforce
A Federal Workforce Serving the People
Reducing the Federal Debt (@GOP).
These numbers and comparisons display how third parties are unpopular, and

unprepared. The electoral college should not be abolished because is running smoothly
with the focus two parties, and it largely prevents the chance of a third party, faithless
candidate from becoming elected.
The electoral college may only seem like a mechanism that organizes the way an
election is held, but it actually does so much more. In addition to organization, the
electoral college provides a sense of togetherness, and unifies the country as one.
Indeed, it is principally because of the electoral college that presidential nominees are
inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than their own. For

as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of electoral
votes required to elect a president. Thus, there is an incentive for presidential
candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to exacerbate
regional differences. (The Electoral College - Pros and Cons). This piece of text shows
that alone, no single state or region has the power to elect a winner, and this was most
likely done by design. The founding fathers who created the electoral college saw the
system as an opportunity to bring the American people together, and to work as a team
in order to fulfill and achieve their goal: elect a president worthy and capable of being
elected. In the beginning, our founding fathers were scared of Democracy, but when
they realized that as long as the citizens had equal voice and input when it came to
important decision making, they could accomplish their goals by working together to do
so. Achieving a common goal is easier when there's a team to help one do so. The
electoral college provides endless opportunities for all citizens to keep gathering
together, communicating, and overall, working together. Therefore, the electoral college
should not be abolished.
Others may say that the electoral college should be abolished because of its
faults do to the age of the system, and these people are not incorrect. The electoral
college itself is a very old system, its almost two centuries old! Many people who
disagree with the electoral college would use the story of Horace Greeley, and the 2000
presidential election to their advantage. When the electoral college was first created, of
course, like any other new system, there were problems. The 1872 election ended up
being a race between the two candidates Ulysses S. Grant, and Horace Greely.

Obviously, Grant won the election, but Greely did not go down without a fight. Yet, he
did go down. According to History.com, before the two candidates were able to meet,
Greeley passed away. This knowledge did become known to some, but news did not
spread fast in the 1800s, so people continued to vote for Greeley: a dead man! In
addition to its early problems, this structure regenerates two different types of votes,
these votes being popular votes, and electoral votes. However, the only votes that count
towards presidency, are the electoral votes. All was fine and smooth sailing until the
2000 election. Al Gorse and George Bush were fighting for the title of president. Gore
won the popular vote, but Bush still won, because he received 270 electoral votes first
(Klein, Christopher). This is one of the key issues about the electoral college, and this is
why some believe the electoral college should be abolished. Others may view the
electoral college as a problem that can only be resolved by abolition, but in reality, the
electoral college is a well-functioning system that should stay in place.
Despite the fact that the popular votes are neglected due to the electoral college,
voters are given voice and power in a different way. The college gives a small group of
voters or a minority a chance to dramatically sway the votes. This especially shines
through during the memorable 2016 election that just occurred on November 8. As
anyone watching the election could realize, almost every single state was divided to the
point where there was no way to determine a projected winner. Nonetheless, as soon
as a small group of people or minority began to vote, a certain candidate was able to
claim that state. It never took much, but because of the electoral college, minorities
largely contributed to why votes were swayed one way or another. Let's take Florida for

example. Trump was the projected winner for this state, but as soon as those last
200,000 votes began to count towards Trump, he was put over the edge, and could
easily claim that state. Yet the percent of the population that both candidates received
are still very close: Trump received 49%, while Clinton received 48%. Now,
Pennsylvania will be investigated. The ending percentages for this state gave Donald
49%, and Hillary 48%, just like Florida. These two halves however, were only separated
by 100,000 votes, and this small amount of people sway the votes towards Trump .
These states were close calls, but because of the electoral college, the small group of
people whose votes were counted towards the end caused Florida and Pennsylvania
(which could have been the reason why Trump won) to go to Trump, and Trump to take
the presidency. The electoral college allows voters of all ethnicities, ages, and genders
to have an equal opportunity of swaying the election a great deal.
All in all, the electoral college creates and provides unity all across the United
States, because without teamwork, no president would be elected. All of the states and
regions must be work together in order elected the president they want, because no
individual state or region has the power to chose the president. Another advantage of
having the electoral college, is that there is a very small chance a third party candidate
or faithless candidate will become elected. This system leaves very little room for
change, and this is good, because third party candidates are often unprepared to
handle the responsibilities of being president. Lastly, the electoral college allows the
voters to have the most input into any election as possible, and this is because anyone,
any group of people, and any minority have the power to make or break an election.

Because the pros of the electoral college outweigh the cons by a landslide, the electoral
college should not be abolished, and should stay active and functioning. All citizens who
believe that the electoral college is an important component to the way our country runs
should take action in order to keep it running. Contact a state senator, email the
governor, send a letter to a local mayor, and persuade them to keep the electoral
college. If one waits any longer, they may just be too late!

Bibliography
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"The Electoral College - Pros and Cons." The Electoral College - Pros and Cons. N.p.,
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"Green Party - Ballotpedia." Green Party - Ballotpedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Klein, Christopher. "9 Things You May Not Know About the Electoral College."
History.com.
A&E Television Networks, 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
"Political Party Strength in U.S. States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14
Nov. 2016.
"The Reason for the Electoral College." FactCheckorg. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
"Ten Key Values." Www.gp.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
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