Analyzing The Electoral College Essay

Introduction – There is not one perfect model for the electoral process. All of the varied electoral processes conducted around the world have some kind of flaw or problem. If there was a perfect electoral system, the world now would have been bereft of any concerns involving the electoral processes. The United States, for all of its advancement in thinking and its study and use of new knowledge in the field of analysis and social sciences, still is unable to define what a perfect electoral system is, and until now, the country is still bombarded with concerns about the possible inconsistencies and the presence of bias or unfairness during the electoral process. Two of the most common election problems include the general problems of the faulty electoral system in place in the country and the growing problem about the efficiency of the Electoral College. There must be some logic or some prevailing election custom or tradition that paved the way for the creation and constant use of the winner take all system, because if the people generally are not in favor of such a system, then how can the system of winner take all during elections take place in the US election system? For someone who thinks the winner take all makes sense to identify the rightful representation for the electorate, the system is the way to go and thinking of a new way which would replace the existing system of winner take all in the election is something that is not only arduous but is also impossible to implement in such a short period of time, considering the fact that elections does not even happen in an annual basis. Analyzing the electoral system and the Electoral College – There maybe some individuals and organizations as well who frown at the idea of the winner take all, while there may also be some people and some groups who believe that the election system and the Electoral College is on the right track by using the winner take all scheme during elections. For those who wants to venture deeper into this issue, the real issue is getting at the bottom of the concern that anti-winner take all scheme voices out, and weigh its relevance and significance vis-Ã  -vis the reasons that people put forward about how the existing winner takes all is a good style in the election process. In the analysis of the winner takes all scheme, those who may agree for its continuance may revert to the thinking that if it is happening and is allowed by almost everyone, then it is considered as socially acceptable and therefore generally something that is ok. The role and influence of the selected electors or members of the electoral college – The electoral college members which are selected representatives of the electorate of a particular state, holds an important role if there are any serious efforts towards the recreation and reconstruction of some of the election process in the country. Like political parties and interest groups, the Electoral College is a collection of individuals which holds an important power in their hands that can dictate the outcome of the process of leader-selection inside the US government for seats taken only by elected officials. Another important aspect to discuss when it comes to the analysis of the problem in the electoral process particularly in the Electoral College and the problem found in the winner take all scheme is the privilege being enjoyed by the members of the Electoral College. Â  For those who are wondering why even despite the presence of those who are arguing against the use of the winner takes all practice during election, the scheme is still in place, the reason behind it maybe the maintaining of the source of power and influence especially among the usual members of the Electoral College. Like any other groups to which important outcomes are dependent on, the groups of individuals forming the electoral college, like the congressmen and the senators, are also experiencing the perks of being placed in a position wherein there is a possibility that the candidates for local and national positions would court these members of the electoral college, resulting to favors and personal debts which electoral college members may find useful, even profitable. Because the winner takes all tradition rests heavily on the continued support for such practice by most of the members of the electoral college (who will have to make do without the ‘favors’ coming their way should the winner takes all scheme is removed), the members of the electoral college themselves might be guilty in undertaking conscious efforts to ensure that the public policy and public opinion at worst is apathetic to such practice. Another problem that haunts the Electoral College is the fact that many do not consider it as a true ally and feature of a country that exercises a democratic form of government. The bias can be seen on how representation through the Electoral College is highly dependent on the state population counted every 10 years by the national census agency of the country. The Electoral College, the electoral system and the winner-takes-all scheme: Is there a better way? – Considering that those who are lobbying for a change in some aspects of the electoral system, starting with the change in the Electoral College and the winner-takes-all scheme, the important question to face here is this: what are the changes needed to complete the election system facelift? So far, there are no groups or individuals who have a concrete solution that can be adopted and implemented so that the electoral system in the country should improve. There are lots of criticisms about the Electoral College and the winner-takes-all scheme, but so far, there are not as many solutions being put to light to replace the electoral features which maybe detrimental to the exercise of a democratic country. The only explanation is that these features are effectively in place even until today despite the criticisms is because they serve the ends of those who are powerful enough to initiate the changes should the faulty features become detrimental to their interests as well. For example, if the winner takes all scheme is indeed a breach of the ideals of the democratic country to exercise fair representation in local and national governance, why is it in place and being observed even until now? In place of the winner-takes-all scheme, others suggest the designing and use of more proportional voting methods that actually put in counting the real statistics of votes and not the collective rounding off of votes during the preliminaries allowing for the change in campaigning strategies, which shifts direction away from the real voters and more towards earning the favor of the members of the Electoral College. Conclusion – When the forefathers of the country first thought of giving the rest of the society the privilege of picking the one person or the set of persons who will be responsible for looking after the welfare of the rest of the society, they immediately established the foundation of a sound democracy. Unfortunately, the design of the ideal democracy did not end there. Until today, the people should not stop in pursuing the elimination of the aspects of democracy that is more detrimental that beneficial, and that includes the problems found in the electoral system. The people should take a pro-active stand in fixing the problems found in the electoral system. Those who are responsible for this particular aspect of social link and interaction should re-evaluate the essence of some of the aspects of the electoral system, like the features and design of the Electoral College. They should be capable of providing the public an unbiased assessment on how the Electoral College is still capable or is not already capable of meeting the ends for which it was created for in the first place. If the Electoral College is being manipulated to serve the best interest of a select few, then the electoral system as a whole is in jeopardy, and drastic actions leading to the formulation of solutions and better alternative should be clearly defined and be set in motion.