Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Electoral College

Facts/Details:
  1. Richard Nixon would have defeated John F. Kennedy in 1960 is it were a direct election with a run-off
  2. Gore received 51 million votes and Bush received 50.5 million in the 2000 election
  3. Each state gets 2 Electoral College votes, regardless of the population.
  4. The Electoral College is undemocratic
  5. States select their electors by popular vote
  6. The Electoral College questions the validity of a nationwide popular election
  7. The Electoral College allows candidates to only campaign in swing states
  8. There are laws requiring electors to vote for candidate who chose them
  9. In most states, the Electoral College works on a “winner-take-all” system: the candidate with the most votes in the state gets all of that state’s electoral votes.
  10. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of electoral votes, the U.S. House of Representatives chooses the president from the top three candidates
Questions:
  1. Is the Electoral College a fair system?
  2. Should the U.S. abandon the Electoral College?
  3. Does the Electoral College eliminate the need for nationwide campaigning?
  4. How can this system be improved upon?
  5. Why should a president lose an election, even though more total people voted for him?

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