Every 4 years Americans vote for who our next president will
be without knowing that their vote might not matter depending on the state they
live in. In Maine and Nebraska there are laws in place that require the members
of the Electoral College for either party to vote depending on the result of
the popular vote and not based on their party affiliation or endorsement for
either candidate. However, that still leaves 48 states that have processes in
place that allow people to decide for them and essentially our votes may not
ever be seriously considered. This is because even if there is a tie for
president then the House of Representatives decides on who will win. I
understand that these procedures are in place because it took much longer to
count the votes and come to a conclusion in general when the constitution was
written. This isn’t the case anymore because the exchange of information is exponentially
greater than in 1803, when then 12th amendment was written putting
this policy in place.
Why do we still conduct elections this way? I believe that
our country could see drastic changes in voter participation and involvement if
we let people directly decide in national elections and not to mention policy and direction. Most people don’t vote
because they feel like it doesn’t matter and to some degree that is true and
not true. Local elections have a much greater impact on daily life and your
vote truly counts, as opposed to a national election. The original creators
behind these ideas knew our society could change rapidly and wrote accordingly.
However, law can always be changed when it is dated and no longer serves a
greater purpose.
2 comments:
In this post by Bailey Garrett, she discusses how Americans don't feel the need to vote because their vote seems unimportant. I think she makes a really good point about how ineffective voting may feel though votes in local elections actually make a difference. Yet local and regional elections have the least voter turnout. I hadn't considered that votes actually could make a difference. It's ironic how what technically matters most to voters are the things they are least likely to vote for. She also talks about the Electoral College system and how that affects voters' morale. I agree with her that the system was created to satisfy the needs of a different time. Just because the Electoral College was created at the start of this country doesn't mean we need to keep it. Our society has replaced almost everything with the new and modern. Why shouldn't the Electoral College reflect the changing times, like any other outdated system? Her argument is well-reasoned, simple, and clear. I think more detail could be given on the changes she would like to see happen. I would like to hear whether she thinks a direct democracy or a new, different system would be best for America as well as how it would affect voter turnout.
In a recent article written by one of my fellow classmates Bailey Garrett, she explains how our voting system has an enormous effect on the way Americans cast their vote for Presidency. She initially grabs the readers attention by raising doubt if our votes even matter in elections. In great detail she expresses, why Americans feel as if their vote won't make a difference in fault to an amendment that was written in 1803. Since then our Society has changed drastically, and stresses the need for our voting system to accommodate based on the president situation and not our past.
For a reader who is uninformed on the Electoral College system and the way they choose to vote the author makes it simple but clear for them to understand. She as well does a great job of as explaining the role of our House of Representatives and when they would potentially step in. I think it's important to emphasize the amount of impact local elections have on our national elections because of our voting system and the author manages to do so. The only thing I would like her to elaborate on would be her idea on ways we should change our voting system to fit our nations present day needs.
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