Austin Beebe

UWRT 1103-021

Ms. Elisa Beth Caruso

April 2nd, 2015

UWRT 1103-021
April 2nd, 2015
Defense Paper Defense Paper
With the 2016 presidential election soon approaching and candidates declaring their
proposition to run, many citizens begin to question, When will changes be made? Many
Countless politicians are burdened with the task of answering the aforementioned question but fall
short simply because the United States is a conservative country with a strong commitment to its
Christian beliefs. founded on and continues to implicate conservative practices. Taking a more
personalized approach on the topic I managed to come across a current proposition to alter the
electoral process in place that is taking the country by storm. With fewer voter registrations being

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filed each term, a current proposition to alter the electoral process in place is taking the country by
storm in hopes of getting the people more involved. This change, also known as the National
Popular Vote Bill, or NPVB for short, would abolish the voting system that has been utilized for
centuries since the 19th century.
Taking a glance at the inquiry product created from my extensive research, one can very
easily see that the product was made to be a visual representation. The reason why I had decided
to create a map of the United States was to appease the norms and expectations of my audience
those who are looking to make a change. and hold some form of interest in political affairs.
Truthfully, anyone can gain some form of knowledge from this product, whether they have
previous experience with political affairs or not, considering it directly affects every citizen of the

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United States. I had decided to stick to a poster board because its commonly seen as a traditional
project in many academic settings which coincides with the traditional aspect of the United States
government. Additionally, posters allow for the developer to compact a great deal of information
into a rather small area which commonly occurs during elections when the candidates release their
platforms. The aesthetically pleasing portion of the product was created in order to allow the
viewer to follow the progress that the bill has made over the course of the past eight years. Now
onto a more reaching perspective, I had decided to stick to a poster board because its commonly
seen as a traditional project which coincides with the traditional aspect of the United States
government. Additionally, posters allow for the developer to compact a great deal of information
into a rather small area which commonly occurs during elections when the candidates release their
platforms.

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middle of the paragraph.

Steering away from the practicality of the product and beginning to focus on the actual
origins itself, one must question how the topic itself was chosen. I, for some unknown reason, have
had a peculiar interest in politics since the early age of 13 which eventually led to me declaring
myself as majoring in political science. After we were assigned the task of completing a project
that tended to stray from the ever-so daunting collegiate essay I was ecstatic and my mind
immediately jumped to something newly surfacing in the politics spectrum. Throughout my four
years in high school and my very short-lived collegiate experience thus far I had managed to write
three papers centering on the Electoral College (you can clearly tell I gained an interest in it). I
finally had the desire to come up with the solution to all the problems that surfaced in my research
after writing so many papers which my product managed to do.

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the topic was introduced.

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During the early stages of the inquiry project, a majority of my findings were focused on
the proposition of Returning to the original proposition of Is the American voting system fair?,

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project

one can only assume through the numerous scandals and accusations that the current system in
place lacks a certain level of credibility. Continuing to go down various branches following the
stereotypical yes or no opinionated responses I began to look into political systems established
in other countries as well as changes being made here in the United States. This corruption is

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project (x2)

adequately showcased by President George W. Bush (2001-2008) being accused of denying

knowledge of the Iron Contra Affair as well as President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) being
impeached on terms of perjury and lying under oath. As my searching expanded to become more
critical and analytical I came across the National Popular Vote Bill or the NPVB for short. As a
way of trying to eliminate untrustworthy and corrupt politicians here in the states, advocates have
recently pushed for the National Popular Vote Bill. A quick summation of the proposed bill states
that the presidential election would be determined by whichever candidate receiving receives the
most popular votes in across the United States. The National Popular Vote Bill preserved the
Electoral College, while ensuring that every vote in every state will matter in every presidential
election (National Popular Vote). Many people have a foggy understanding of how exactly the
current election system in place works; however, the transition to the NPVB will allow better
understanding by clarifying that every participating state would immediately forfeit their electoral
votes to the winning candidate of the popular vote. For example, suppose New York, California,
and Texas which have a collective 122 electoral votes as depicted on the Inquiry product itself
all pass the NPVB, their representatives in the Electoral College would automatically give their
122 designated votes to the winner of the popular vote. during the 2020 presidential election. The
bill has been enacted in 11 jurisdictions possessing 165 votes 61% of the 270 necessary to

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project (x3)

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activate it (FairVote) and 538 of the grand electoral votes. Taking a closer look as previously
stated, 11 jurisdictions have enacted it into law, one has passed through both houses, ten whom
passed through one house, nine who passed one committee, 11 who have held hearings, and lastly
nine who have introduced bills. If the NPVB successfully secures the 270 electoral votes needed,
the election of 2020 will mark the very first election done solely off the peoples opinion. The
National Popular Vote Bill was introduced due to problematic issues arising among so called safe
states and swing states. With voter turn-out reaching the lowest it has been since World War
II and a plethora of other flaws, the bill was introduced to squash these issues residing in so called
safe states and swing states (Voter). To clarify, safe states are those deemed permanently
democratic (a majority of New England, besides New Hampshire) and those predominantly
republican (a great deal of the south and mid-west). Some problems that arise with safe states; it
has the lowest voter turn-out compared to other states and remains growing since the election of
1988 with numbers reaching 6.7% in the 2012 election (FairVote), the findings also indicate that
the longer a safe state remains safe, the voter turn-out will continue to decrease. Another problem
that is associated with safe states is that there are numerous ignored issues among these states,
mainly focusing around womens rights, the QUILTBAGPIPE community, and various ethnic
communities. Finally, one of the biggest problems that plagues safe states is that it creates a feeling
of unimportance amongst its residents with some claiming I struggle to find a reason to even go
out to the polls, knowing that my vote wont count (The Loneliness).
To clarify, safe states are those deemed permanently democratic (a majority of New
England, besides New Hampshire as represented on the product itself by the mass of blue) and
those predominantly republican (a great deal of the south and mid-west). Some problems that arise
with safe states; is that it has the lowest voter turn-out compared to other states and remains

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paragraph and swing states to its own paragraph

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growing since the election of 1988 with numbers reaching 6.7% in the 2012 election (FairVote),.
The the findings also indicate that the longer a safe state remains safe, the voter turn-out will
continue to decrease, as seen in Texas. Another problem that is associated with safe states is that
there are numerous ignored issues among these states, mainly focusing around womens rights,
the QUILTBAGPIPE community, and various ethnic communities. Finally, one of the biggest
problems that plagues safe states is that it creates a feeling of unimportance amongst its residents
with some claiming a resident of Virginia claiming, I struggle to find a reason to even go out to
the polls, knowing that my vote wont count (The Loneliness).
On the other hand, swing states are those who have shown very little stability and
consistency throughout the past few elections Florida and Ohio oftentimes being coined as the
biggest swing states. A major problem that comes about from swing states is a sense of political
schizophrenia, or an extreme emphasis on politics that is oftentimes deemed excessive and out-ofhand. Going along with the unease set in the aforementioned states, many are troubled by voter
uncertainty and question whether actively changing from republican to democratic is healthy if
they wish to see political reform take place. Lastly, one of the biggest issues facing swing states is
the excessive money wasted on campaigning each election with 500 million dollars spent on
campaigning in Florida, Ohio, and Virginia throughout the length of the 2012 election. of the
collective 2.6 billion dollars comprising the 2012 election (2012).
The National Popular Vote Bill has faced quite a bit of popularity amongst the United
States as a younger, more liberal pool of voters flock the polls on Election Day. simply because
change is required at this point in order to save the plummeting voter turn-out. Over the course of
an eight year period the bill has been fully enacted in 11 jurisdictions, as previously stated, and
has reached every single state in some way shape or form. The NPVB acts as both a preservative

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of the nations morals and a progressive shift for personal expression. The inquiry product itself
can also be seen as a form of expression with hints of political interest and artistic bits showcasing
themselves. Dont We are the Millennials, it is our time. Do not ask for change. Demand change.
Be the change.

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Works Cited
"2012 Presidential Race." Opensecrets RSS. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"FairVote.org | Lower Presidential Election Turnout in Safe Republican States (Part II)." FairVote.
Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
"FairVote.org | National Popular Vote." FairVote. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
"National Popular Vote -- Electoral College Reform by Direct Election of the President." National
Popular Vote -- Electoral College Reform by Direct Election of the President. Web. 4 Apr.
2015.
"The Loneliness of the Non-swing-state Voter." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 24
Jan. 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
"Voter Turnout in 2014 Was the Lowest since WWII." Washington Post. The Washington Post.
Web. 20 Apr. 2015.