Electoral is the United States' voting system

The electoral system in the United States is as old as the country's constitution. The founding architects of this magnificent nation devised a constitutional convention that distinguishes presidential elections from those of other elective positions. The concept of the Electoral College arose from the challenges that our forefathers anticipated during earlier electioneering times. At the time, information and political news travelled slowly, and it was difficult for the American vast population to have enough information about candidates from distant states, much as it is today. As a result, they were more inclined to vote for the closest candidate to them or one from their surrounding areas. As such, it would be complicated and probably impossible to have a candidate who would get an obvious majority. However, even in circumstances that there was a winner, it would have been complicated for the candidate to have reached the general population. Not to mention, the manner with which the states with the highest population would have taken advantage of their numbers to have their candidates receive the majority of the votes.
After examination of these challenges and several attempts to ensure a just electoral system, an electoral system to have people elect the president of the United States was incepted, the idea of "Electoral College". A system that allowed people to elect their president indirectly through what is called college of voters. As explained by Sayre and Parris (1970) in their text, the Electoral College is a composition of electors from each of the country's state who acts as the state's popular vote. According to this system, each presidential candidate/party designates a group of individual electors in each of the states, which is equal to the number of their electoral votes. The number of these voters in each state must coincide to the number of United States senators and that of the Representatives combined so the population of the state defines that. This means that the bigger the population of the state the more Electoral votes compared to states whose populations are smaller.
According to the constitution, on the first Tuesday in November of every fourth year after the previous election, voters from each state give their representations to the electors, who in turn will vote for the preferred presidential candidate based on the political alignment. The winner with majority votes, therefore, decides whom between the two personalities contesting for the presidency wins the electoral votes. Ideally, the candidate who garners majority of the votes at the state level has all its elected electors given the voting powers from that particular state. This means that a presidential candidate who conquests the popular vote automatically takes the electoral college votes available for a given state. Such takes place in the 48 of the 50 US states with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, whose elections of the representatives to the electoral college is done in a different fashion. Specifically, the two states have their electoral system organized into districts (Goldfeder, 2016). A candidate would need just one more majority of the Electoral College votes to win the United States presidency. This, therefore, means that the candidate would have to get 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes to be declared duly elected president (Edwards, Kimnach, & Minkema, 2004). A candidate does not need to win the popular vote to become the president but only needs the simple majority of the Electoral College votes across the country.
In many of the past presidential contests, the president is usually known early in the morning of the day after the day of voting. However, it is critical to note that the results do not become official until compliance to some procedure is ascertained. On the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December, the victorious electors would converge in their respective state headquarters to cast ballots for their preferred presidential contenders and send the closed results to the capital, Washington DC. The sealed results are opened and read to the entire Congress. The winner then becomes officially declared the president of the United States who is sworn into office on 20th January.
Pros and Cons of the Electoral College
Pros
Examining the nature of Electoral College system and its originality, is designed in such a way that it preserves the rights and voices of all states regardless of their population size. Despite having a population within urban areas, we still have an electoral system that saves the interest of rural farmers as well as minority groups found in the less bustling locations.
Even though most activist may be against the idea of tow party system, it is one of the best ways to promote political policies and ideologies. The two-party system characterized by the Democrats versus the Republicans has created a more stable political environment for a very long time in the history of the country. Electoral systems with more political parties create a more generalized platform instead of two parties that have their focus on specific issues (Edwards, Kimnach, & Minkema, 2004).
This system directs the power to elect or select the delegates from the states to the Electoral College who participates in the election of the president. Such system maintains the representative type of government that is very beneficial to the states regardless of their sizes. Another advantage of the of the Electoral College lies on its influence on the state matters. The Electoral College system was developed or incepted with more focus on the interest of the country. It builds unity and more efficient in ensures no much confusion exist in the electoral system.
Cons
Because some smaller states in the country have a high percentage of Electoral College votes compared to their population sizes, critics consider this undemocratic in a way. The minimum electors in each state are three. The states with larger populations have more influence in the determination of the winners in a presidential race. A second limitation of the system is its complexity to people and seems to dissuade them from voting. While democracy prescribes a popular vote, the Electoral College system entails otherwise. This tends to make the voters feel that their votes do not matter. Also, the small as swing states seem to get more power rather than the largely populated states. The one-man one vote does not apply in this system and even with the redistribution do not achieve after every ten years of the census.
Lastly, the Electoral College can sometimes result in the possibility of rogue electors. Most states lacked regulations requiring their Electoral College voters to vote in the way their states have voted. This, therefore, means that they are unbound and may not honor the tradition of the lector's vote. These faithless voters sometimes end up giving their votes to the candidates who do not win the popular votes of their states (Edwards, Kimnach, & Minkema, 2004).
Personal Perspective
As much as the forefathers of this great nation had the country's interest at heart while developing or creating this electoral system, it is the time we should reconsider abolishing or amending the system. While true democracy dictates that each vote counts, the Electoral College system does not provide for such. It is possible for a candidate in a presidential contest to win the majority popular vote across the country but fails to become the president just because they have been defeated in the Electoral College votes. The system makes it possible to elect a president without necessarily achieving the majority popular votes. For instance, the recent elections, Hillary Clinton had the majority popular votes while President Trump beat her in the Electoral College votes. This raises many questions because it makes it much difficult for the person that is preferred by the majority of the people to become the president.
As explained by Colomer (2016) in his text, an effective electoral system is that one that makes voters feel empowered and always wants to register to vote since they are encouraged their votes will count. The current system seems to discourage individuals from voting since to some extent their votes will not matter but that of the Electoral College. A fair system would, in fact, encourage all citizens of the voting age to register and participate in elections to bring the changes that they anticipate.
Another critical issue about this system is that it shifts more focus on the interests of the minority groups rather than the majority. The Electoral College system favors a small group of parties just to create unified front towards the country called the United States, yet the majority interests are not emphasized. Indeed, it is quite hurting to have majority popular vote and get the few state electors decide for the general population.
In conclusion, the Electoral College voting system should be removed to give room for a more convenient and fair system that would reflect the dictum of true democracy. American politics has reached maturity stage with all issues brought to the table for discussions and rational decisions made by each voter. As such, an efficient system that counts each vote should be introduced to take over the old system that was developed out of fear of minority interests being neglected.




References
Colomer, J. (Ed.). (2016). The handbook of electoral system choice. Springer.
Edwards, G. C., Kimnach, W. H., & Minkema, K. P. (2004). Why the Electoral College is bad for America. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Goldfeder, J. H. (2016). Election Law and the Presidency: An Introduction and Overview. Fordham L. Rev., 85, 965.
Sayre, W. S., & Parris, J. H. (1970). Voting for President: The Electoral College and the American Political System. Brookings institution.