Christion Abrams 4/20/17

Why the Electoral College Process should be eliminated

Many know the results of the last election. Most know not just who won the election but

the other facts that go with the election. Hillary Clinton actually won the popular vote by nearly

3 million votes according to the Huffington Post she won

Popular Votes

Donald Tump

Hillary Clinton

60,000,000 65,000,000 70,000,000

Votes

48.2 percent of the vote compared to Trumps 46.1

percent however it is also well know that the presidency is now and has always been determined

by the Electoral College and the amount of votes given to each state going to the candidate that

gets the most votes in their state. And in this years election Donald Trump won 304 votes

compared to Hillarys 227. This past election is not the first time that this has happened.

According ProCon.org there were for other times that the winner of the popular vote ultimately

lost the election not including the 2016 election, the most memorable of those being the 2000
Election between George Bush and Al Gore. Even in 2012 in the election between Obama and

Romney an election where Obama won both the electoral and popular vote the election was

called in Obamas favor while Romney was actually ahead in the popular vote. These past

occurrences have shown that the Electoral College system is in fact outdated and it is time that it

is eliminated.

In order to criticize the Electoral College one must have a good understanding of the

history of the Electoral College. In 1787 the founding fathers of the country came up with the

Electoral College idea to protect the election from what they called tyranny of the majority and

to prevent those that were not as educated on politics to largely effect the election process. This

is the argument that is made by those who still support the Electoral College and feel as though

the process should stay. However as stated before this process was founded during the time of

our founding fathers. The issue of nationwide ignorance on candidates is a lot less of an issue

now in 2017 than it was 230 years ago due to the numerous advances in technology over that

time. Cell Phones, computers, and several other news stations are around that help avoid that

issue. Even those that are not necessarily into politics are able to get a decent amount of

information on accident. This can be shown in the steady increase of voters since 1992 according

to The American Presidency Project Every election after the 1988 election no less than 95

million have shown up to the polls. This can also be due to easier access and a higher population

however the fact that there has been an increase in votes shows higher interest.

There are those that feel the elimination of the Electoral College hurts those in smaller

communities and rural areas. However the issue with the electoral vote that there are several

states that matter a lot less than others. So the issue that may come to life in rural areas with no

popular vote come to life in small states like New Hampshire, or Vermont and give a lot more
power to what is referred to as Swing States during campaigning this is where the candidates

spend most of their time during their trail because these wind up being the most important, states

like Florida or Ohio get the most attention because most likely these certain states will most

likely determine the election. And if a few states is what ultimately determines the election how

does that support the will of the whole nation?

President Donald Trump was not voted into office by the majority of the nation. It is

because of this there have been so many protest and so much outrage and anger recently across

the country. Before he was even inaugurated Trump had the lowest approval rating ever for a

President Elect at 37% according to TheHill.com the second lowest Pre-inauguration approval

rating went to George W. Bush in 2000, another election in which the popular vote was overruled

by the electoral vote. Today Donald Trumps approval rating has fallen to 41 percent the lowest

post-inauguration approval rating since 1953 according to Al.com. As a result President Trump

has made several questionable decisions that have been met with resistance, anger and high

tensions, across the country but this could have been foreseen considering most Americans didnt

want Trump as their president in the first place.

 Sources

"2016 Presidential Election." Presidential Election of 2016. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

Calfas, Jennifer. "Poll: Trump Approval Rating Hits New Low Hours before

Inauguration." TheHill. N.p., 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

Lgore@al.com, Leada Gore |. "Donald Trump Approval Ratings: President's Average

Numbers Lowest since 1953, Poll Shows." AL.com. AL.com, 21 Apr. 2017. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

"Polls." RealClearPolitics - Election 2012 - General Election: Romney vs. Obama. N.p.,

20 Dec. 2016. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

 "The Electoral College: Top 3 Pros and Cons." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., 18 Nov. 2016.

Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections. American Presidency Project, n.d. Web. 21 Apr.

2017.

Wing, Nick. "Final Popular Vote Total Shows Clinton Won Almost 3 Million More

Ballots Than Trump." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Dec. 2016. Web. 21 Apr.

2017.