Problem Solving Essay Outline

Introduction
If people do not vote it is a vote for the opponent. The popular vote matters.
From a young age we are taught in the United States that ever vote matters and to get out
and vote. If this is the case then what is the Electoral College and why it does not work?
If only it were that simple as each vote count. The truth is that each vote does not put the
candidate a person votes for closer to the White House. In fact, it is a little more
complicated by a system put into place in 1789 called the Electoral College. The
Electoral College is not a place where you go to school each day and get good grades. It
is a system of electing the President of the United States. Although the method of
executing the Electoral College has changed many times over the years, the popular vote
is not used and the election results are defined by 538 individuals. This did not need to
be this long and should have been in bulleted points.

Thesis
The problem with the Electoral College of electing a person that citizens potentially do
not support are caused in part by not having every vote count, having the Electoral
College override the popular vote and not giving the President the confidence that all
citizens support him/her can be overcome by using a simple popular vote that ensures
individual votes count, no votes are overridden, and thus establish confidence when
electing Presidents in the United States.

Section 1 Problem (3-4 paragraphs)- way too much on the problem. This can only be one
paragraph. Discussing the problem would be an optional section but can only be one
paragraph.
A. Every vote does not count
1. When a person votes he is under the assumption that they are making a difference
in the voting process. However, they are not and may have their Electorate vote
something entirely different.
2. As people see that their votes did not count, they may resort to not voting at all
which makes any election system irrelevant.
3. The losing candidate and the supporters, but it also affected people who thought
their vote counted and did not really understand the voting process with the
United States.
B. The Electors can override citizens votes
1. The Electoral College was established to override the popular vote if a person
were to be elected that was a traitor, criminal or otherwise considered unfit to be
President.
2. By using this type of election system, it causes the American people to believe
less in going to the voting booths and not being engaged in the voting process.
C. The incoming President will have the confidence that citizens are behind him/her
1. The President may make decisions that a majority of people do not agree with
which can lead to wide protest and chaos.
2. The President may eventually find himself/herself in a situation where he/she is
trying to satisfy everyone and not be consistent in decisions made.
3. Countries around the world look at the United States for leadership and stability
and may find it unsettling that the United States population is erupting in protest
over elections.
.
There are a lot of negative and positive reasons to keep the Electoral College in place, however,
there seem to be more negatives. Most of the negatives can be overcome but will take some
effort by the American public and the elected officials.

Section 2 Solution (3 -4 paragraphs)

D. Establish a voting system where every vote counts.

1. Each person will get one vote.
2. Election results would be more accurate.
3. People would not lose interest in the results knowing their vote counted.

E. Once the popular vote is counted, it should not be overridden.

1. The elected person will know immediately what a majority of the population think
of him/her.
2. If there were a need for a recount, it would make it easier to count votes.
3. Americans would believe that the election system works.

F. The popular vote would give the President confidence.

1. The President would not feel rejected or disliked by either political party.
2. There would be less rebuttals which would get the President in office faster.
3. It would also give the citizens a confidence level in the President to think they
voted for him/her.

Conclusion This did not need to be this long and should have been in bulleted points.
A. In conclusion, the Electoral College does not work and exist from what was established
over 200 years ago. When it was established, there was no way the people writing it
would know how drastically the United States would change overtime. Because this
system is outdated, it should be changed and the popular vote should be put into place.
History teaches us that change is inevitable and we must adapt to it. The Electoral
College is one of those things that must be changed to keep the generations to come
engaged in the election process. Without changing the process, we may end up with 270
people setting our destiny. Citizens must unite, agree with the election process and
ultimately believe in the process. When citizens do not have faith in the process they
must let their elected officials know, offer their services, in making the process better and
letting them know that the Electoral College does not work and should be changed to the
popular vote.