The Electoral College
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| Reagan vs. Mondale Election Results, PC: https://www.270towin.com/1984_Election/ |
In class, we are discussing the debate on whether or not the presidency should be decided on popular vote or with the Electoral College. We examined two sources, one that supports the Electoral College and one that supports the popular vote.
The Electoral College is the system which decides the president of the United States. Each state has a number of electors, and can vary based on population. More populous states have more electors, and vice versa.
Our first source is from Fox News Opinion, which is a right-leaning establishment. The article is titled "Why do Democrats want to dump the Electoral College" and was written by Bryan Dean Wright. Wright justifies the use of the Electoral College throughout the article, and says that although the electors can't vote for whomever they please, they almost always vote for the candidate that wins their state. Conservatives usually support the Electoral College.
Wright also establishes the idea that Democrats want to get rid of the Electoral College because it will give them the advantage over Trump in 2020. The Democrats are pushing the popular vote because that it is the only way they will beat Trump (Look at the 2016 election).
He also writes about the Interstate Compact, where "states would pool their electors for whichever candidate wins the national vote irrespective of their state's vote" The agreement goes into effect once 270 Electoral College votes have been surpassed. In addition, I did a little bit of outside research on said compact, and found on MultiState that there are a total of fifteen states and the capital that have joined this compact.
MultiState also references the Constitution and questions the legality of this compact. MultiState writes, "According to Article I, Section 10, clause 3 of the Constitution, 'No State shall, without the consent of Congress . . . enter into any Agreement of Compact with another State. . . .'” They say that this Interstate Compact may "encroach upon or interfere with the just supremacy of the United States" and that this will mess up the balance of powers between the federal government and the states (FEDERALISM).
Wright thinks that the DemonRats want to "cheat" in the election and go against the system of government that our Founding Fathers put into place. He wants to showcase the radical ideas of the left and how they want to overhaul the Electoral College. Wright lists his argumentative claims that are logical, but does not really use data-driven evidence, which can be a potential weakness.
The Electoral College is the system which decides the president of the United States. Each state has a number of electors, and can vary based on population. More populous states have more electors, and vice versa.
Fox News Opinion
Wright also establishes the idea that Democrats want to get rid of the Electoral College because it will give them the advantage over Trump in 2020. The Democrats are pushing the popular vote because that it is the only way they will beat Trump (Look at the 2016 election).
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| PC: https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/11/13/who-won-the-popular-vote/ |
He also writes about the Interstate Compact, where "states would pool their electors for whichever candidate wins the national vote irrespective of their state's vote" The agreement goes into effect once 270 Electoral College votes have been surpassed. In addition, I did a little bit of outside research on said compact, and found on MultiState that there are a total of fifteen states and the capital that have joined this compact.
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| PC: https://www.multistate.us/insider/2019/6/27/more-states-join-interstate-compact-to-bypass-electoral-college |
MultiState also references the Constitution and questions the legality of this compact. MultiState writes, "According to Article I, Section 10, clause 3 of the Constitution, 'No State shall, without the consent of Congress . . . enter into any Agreement of Compact with another State. . . .'” They say that this Interstate Compact may "encroach upon or interfere with the just supremacy of the United States" and that this will mess up the balance of powers between the federal government and the states (FEDERALISM).
Wright thinks that the DemonRats want to "cheat" in the election and go against the system of government that our Founding Fathers put into place. He wants to showcase the radical ideas of the left and how they want to overhaul the Electoral College. Wright lists his argumentative claims that are logical, but does not really use data-driven evidence, which can be a potential weakness.
Splinter
Our second article is tiled "The Electoral College Is Stupid and if You Support It You Are Also Stupid" by Paul Blest. Our second article is tiled "The Electoral College Is Stupid and if You Support It You Are Also Stupid" by Paul Blest. It argues that the Electoral College isn't an accurate representation of what the people want. He says that the colors of the land don't matter, as land can't vote. He also argues that electors can do whatever they want, although most of the time, the electors vote the same way as their state. Splinter is a left-leaning source, and progressives tend to support the popular vote.
Take a look at this argument:
“And if there was ever any hope for the case that the Electoral College would protect against the ‘tyranny of the majority’ and prevent a dumb, vicious asshole from becoming president, well, look at who’s running our country right now.”
Yikes. Let's break this down, piece by piece. He states tyranny of the majority, but I do not see how it is related to anything at all. Also, "dumb" and "vicious asshole" are completely subjective, and lessen the credibility of this article. Scholarly works usually refrain from using profane language, and this article proves to be written by someone who encompasses the mindset of an adolescent. Yelling obscenities doesn't help solidify claims.
Take a look at this argument:
“And if there was ever any hope for the case that the Electoral College would protect against the ‘tyranny of the majority’ and prevent a dumb, vicious asshole from becoming president, well, look at who’s running our country right now.”
Yikes. Let's break this down, piece by piece. He states tyranny of the majority, but I do not see how it is related to anything at all. Also, "dumb" and "vicious asshole" are completely subjective, and lessen the credibility of this article. Scholarly works usually refrain from using profane language, and this article proves to be written by someone who encompasses the mindset of an adolescent. Yelling obscenities doesn't help solidify claims.
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| PC: https://giphy.com/gifs/cbbc-beaker-tracy-58F2ZgD4cgExxbCo1h |
The author repeatedly calls people who disagree with him names, which may favour younger audiences; however the use of extreme and vulgar language may lower the credibility of this source.
The reasoning behind the Electoral College is simple: the Founding Fathers didn't believe that normal, everyday citizens would be intelligent enough to use their votes wisely. The way Paul argues is unprofessional, and the language used is unnecessary and does not provide any further insight on the topic. He uses an emotionally-based argument, which proves to be weak.
Here is modern-day proof of our lack of knowledge:
Here is modern-day proof of our lack of knowledge:
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