The Electoral College: Explain The Operations Of The Said Electoral Body (Essay Sample)

The Electoral College
Name
Institutional Affiliation
The Electoral College
The American electoral system is one amongst the most complicated ones around the world. Unlike the common popular vote democratic system, the American system employs certain systems aimed at limiting not only the popular election of the president but also curtailing the eventual power wielded by any such president. Therefore, regardless of the fact that just like every other democratic system, the American electoral system includes the direct vote for the president and the vice president, the inclusion of certain curtails ensures that the popularity of a candidate or the populous nature of certain partisan areas does not eventually determine the presidency of America. These curtails exist within a system known as the American electoral college, a system which employs the voting of electors sourced from the state system of America to virtually determine the president of America. The Electoral College is a voting system which employs the votes of electors which determines the American presidency and that was aimed at avoiding the over powerfulness of a popular candidate.
The structure of the Electoral College is centralized on the voting patterns of the electors as a representative of the people. The Electoral College has its origins within the constitution of America, existing within the founding fathers’ intentions to curb a populist presidency. The 1787 constitutional convention established this concept as a part of the solutions to the issue of an authoritarian democracy and it was therefore included in the constitution. The purpose of the creation of this concept was to ensure that populist zones did not gang up to produce a president who was supported within one region but not accepted within the less populous places. This reason was fronted in the consideration that there were places in America where there were fewer populations and to have these individuals represented just as well as those from the populous states, the founding fathers proposed the Electoral College system. The second reason for the creation of the Electoral College was to afford power to the less populous state thereby evening out the democracy that is America. This prospect was enshrined within the Electoral College under the idea that regardless of the popularity of a candidate, the voice of every American citizen had to be considered.
The Electoral College system differs sharply from the ordinary popular vote approach since, in this style, the people's votes do not determine the winner. This system works through the selection of electors who come from the representatives of the people and the senators. These individuals, often selected by the political parties of the specific states, vote for the president and the vice president and the candidate who gets the majority, with a minimum of 270 votes is declared as the winner. The current number of electors is around 583 and they represent each of the states and the District of Columbia. Therefore whenever a president or vice president is to be voted for, the law requires that the states provide electors who will then represent the nation in deciding the right candidate for president and vice president. This system, therefore, differs completely from the popular vote system since unlike the latter, the Electoral College determines the president and his vice through their votes. In the popular vote system, the candidate with the most votes is automatically the president. However, in the Electoral College, the popular candidate may win the people's vote but lose the Electoral College vote which would mean that they do not become president. The consequence of using the Electoral College is, therefore, a subversion of the popular vote in most instances. For instance in the 200 elections where George Bush lost the popular vote by 51 percent, an electoral college win of 271 to 266 against A...