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This answer is subject to a wide range of opinion.
The electoral college was a carefully thought compromise developed early in the nation's history. There were two main reasons for it:
- Some of the founding fathers (Alexander Hamilton, for example) believed that the people were too naive and uninformed to choose good national leaders. A select team of educated people from each state could do the selection more wisely.
- The electoral college allowed the smallest states a little bit of an extra voice in the choosing of the president.
The electoral college remains an important part of American Republican Democracy. Candidates and parties vie for slight majorities in selected 'swing' states rather than fighting equally in all areas.
The electoral college has several flaws:
- The system can choose a president who has a minority of popular votes. In the 2000 election, Mr. Gore received 500,000 more votes than Mr. Bush, but lost.
- The system provides a substantial bias in favor of the small states and against the largest states.
- Because the smallest states are mainly aligned with one party and the largest two states with the other, the electoral college system favors one party over the other.
- While the system is based upon the belief that the select people of the electoral college will use sound judgment, better than that of the common people, the present usage of the system actually removes the judgment from their hands. They are forced to vote with the party they are aligned with.
So while the electoral college remains a viable component of the democracy, it should not be considered an essential or beneficial component.
What else can I help you with?
Is a president of the US is elected by the electoral college a monarchy dictatorship olygarchypure democracy representative democracy?
representative democracy
Is electoral college a characteristic of democracy?
It is not an essential part of a democratic system.
Which countries are democracies without an electoral college?
The United States is the only example of a country in the world which uses an electoral college to indirectly elect the executive, so every other democracy is one without an electoral college.
The president of the US is elected by the electoral college What type of system is this?
representative democracy
Why was the electoral college put into place during the founding periods of the US?
The Electoral College is a group of citizens who are elected and act as representatives of the states in the USA, put into place to vote for, and elect the President and Vice President. It was created in 1787. Some people wanted a representative democracy, and some people wanted a direct democracy. With the Electoral College System, it was a compromise between the two. With the Electoral College System, the people could indirectly elect the President.
What has the author Martin Diamond written?
Martin Diamond has written: 'The Electoral College and the American idea of democracy' -- subject(s): Election, Electoral college, Presidents 'Notes on the political theory of the Founding Fathers' -- subject(s): History, Political science, The Federalist 'As far as republican principles will admit' -- subject(s): History, Political science
How might a citizen in America's new democracy have complained about the electoral college?
It is unclear what the question is asking.1) Question: By what method would an American citizen in the early days of the republic have complained about the US Electoral College?There are several ways that an American citizen could have complained about the electoral college, such as: protesting; writing his opinion in letters or newspapers; and discussing the issue with his local, state, or federal representatives.2) Question: What issues would an American citizen in the early days of the republic have had with the existence or powers of the US Electoral College?The main issue that American citizens would have had (and stil do have) with the Electoral College is that it divorces the election of the US President, the most powerful statesman in the United States, from the actual popular vote. Other issues with the electoral college remain issues today, including: majority take all voting in the electoral college, that electors can completely disregard the popular vote (such as happened in the non-election of Horace Greeley), and there is no oversight of the Electoral College. An additional problem was that the US had not clarified (until the Twelfth Amendment) that the President and Vice President must come on a combined ticket, so this led to many faulting the US Electoral College for making Thomas Jefferson the Vice President for John Adams when the two were ideologically opposed, leading to stagnation within the executive branch.
Who ellects the president of the US?
The electoral college
Where the party candidates campaign to win in the electoral college?
U.S. Presidential candidates campaign to the American people, then the electoral college is appointed based on the popular vote in each state.
What is the difference between democracy and American democracy?
Long answer. Go to Hillsdale college and take course on differences.
Who directly elect the president?
electoral college
Who are the electors in the electoral college?
The citizens are the voters for the electoral college.
