Election Persuasive Essay

In a modernized society that highly values civil rights and equality, it is paramount for every citizen of a country to vote. Throughout history, people of minority and many others have fought for the notorious right to vote, and some even putting their lives on the line. Thus, a blessing of compulsory voting will not only give everybody an opportunity to voice how their country would like to be governed, but also presents a fair representation of what people want. One shouldn’t discount compulsory voting to pose a havoc on civil rights, it grants everyone that right regardless of citizenship and class. Countries should adopt compulsory voting, as countries will govern better and citizens would be happier as their country would be controlled by how they like.

Imagine a time where teenagers are allowed to vote on important positions or issues that could possibly define our nation’s future. The average teenager may seem responsible, but would they be able to handle the responsibility of deciding our nation’s fate in the world as well as their own. In the article, “ Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history making moment at the polls,” Annys Shin, who writes in depth about the historical event as well as shares valued opinions of those who participated in the making of this event, exclaims that the, “ Montgomery County community [was] the nation’s first to lower the voting age from 18 to 16.” This seems to be a test to determine if the nation should lower the voting age completely. However, this test shows varying results, but majority seem to shed some light on the fact that teenagers simply should not take part in voting. The average teenagers seem too young to be mature about issues, are uninterested in what major decisions are made by the government, and are simply being used by their parentals for an extra person support their own beliefs.

Most Americans would be surprised to find out that when they go vote for the President of the United States that they are not voting directly for the President, they are instead voting for the people that in turn vote for President. A recent survey conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute found that only 65.88% of people knew anything about the way the commander and chief is elected. Even more staggering though is that only 57.31% of elected officials within the United States government knew the way the President is elected (Additional). America elects its President is through a complex process of state electors that vote on behalf of their constituents. This process is called the Electoral College, and it is written directly into the United States Constitution. The Electoral College is a system unique to America, so most reform options won’t be accepted by the American people or won't represent the the opinions of the majority of Americans if this system is changed.

As of late the Electoral College has been looked down upon for their decisions in the 2016 election and many have considered doing away with it. If this were to happen, the popular vote would be the direct vote. Nonetheless, by giving the popular vote the most authority, it would be like giving a monkey a loaded gun: they wouldn't know how to use it and it can lead to many more minor problems that can easily be avoided with the help of the Electoral College. Giving the Electoral College too little or too much power would lead to unwanted disagreements. The Electoral College is best the way it is in view of the fact that the winner-takes-all distribution of votes, changes the victors small percentage margin to seem much larger, so it makes the candidate’s win more certain and legit (usnews.com).

This past election has raised several questions and issues, one of them being on the effectiveness of the Electoral College. Though Clinton won the popular vote with a margin of 2,868,692 votes, Trump won the presidency because his electoral votes were greater. Many were confused as to how this could happen, but looking at a map of the U.S. county-wise, it is somewhat more believable. Most of Clinton’s votes were concentrated in major cities,unlike Trump’s which were more widespread. This allowed him to cast a wider net to collect more electoral votes. Despite this being the reasoning behind it, many question if this is the right path. In truth, the Electoral college system is very faulty in the sense that it misrepresents a large portion of American Citizens. Therefore, it requires several changes, i.e. converting to a proportional system rather than winner-take-all, to be made so it could better reflect the will of the people, without dismissing the entire establishment as a whole.

Only 53.6% of eligible voters vote, leaving 46.4% not voting (“Political Participation in the US”). This 46.4% of people do not believe their votes count. They believe that the Electoral College system cancels out their votes and that the government will not listen anyway. People think that nothing will change due to the incumbency rate in Congress. That is where the people do not see what is really happening. Americans do not vote enough, so they cannot possibly make a change in government when they are not exercising one of their most powerful rights. Citizens of other countries yearn for the right to vote and Americans who fought so hard for this right do not even use it. “US voting rates are among the lowest in the developed world” (“Political Participation in the US”). Young people should be concerned with this issue. Because America has a democratic form of government, political participation is necessary, everyone’s vote counts, and corrections in government can only be made by the people first.

Does a United States citizen think that electoral college is democracy's safety net? The people of the U.S. have their own opinions about Electoral College. Some disagree on the topics that Electoral College discusses, and some agree. Most U.S. citizens should support the electoral college because it prevents majority rule, the US needs the electoral college more than ever before, and the intentions of the founding fathers held the abhorrence in the US.

Today, there is a much greater amount of people and technology in the country than there was in the 1700’s. As America changed and grew throughout the years, the people have adapted to the new demands of life. For example, when the men went off to fight in World War I, it created a need for women to enter the workforce, and women have not left since. The same adaptation is needed in the presidential election because having an electoral college gives too much power to a lesser amount of people, with the increase in technology, we must adapt to new ways of voting, and the House of Representatives should not have the last word on who becomes president.

The Fathers had established a solution between the debate of a election of the President by popular vote of citizens and the election of the President by a vote in Congress and; in the Constitution. The Electoral College includes of 538 electors. In order to win you need to have at least 270 votes. The people of each state vote for their candidate, and the electors vote on the candidate and give all the votes to the candidate who won the popular vote. In my opinion the Electoral College process is not an efficient way, and it needs to be revised. Technology has changed and every vote can be counted buy computers, since Founding Fathers tried to make it easier for them to count the votes, since they traveled by horse. Since candidates only focus on winning over states that have the most electors. The Electoral College doesn't go with the will of the people.

As important as the popular vote may seem, it is the Electoral College vote that decides presidential elections. The framers of the Constitution devised the Electoral College system because they did not trust voters who were spread out over 13 states to choose the head of the executive branch. Instead, they gave that responsibility to a group of electors who might better know who was best suited for that job.

On August 18th, 1920, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote. After countless protests and speeches over many years by dedicated women suffragists, women finally gained the right to take part in the US government after an absence of nearly 150 years. The fact that women could not vote at the conception of the US government shows that many aspects of it are outdated, one of these being the electoral college. The electoral college is the system of voting used in the US in which each state receives a certain number of electors, based on population, with a total of 538, who ultimately decide which presidential candidate is victorious. Although it may protect the interests of small states, the electoral college has troubling origins, allows for the misrepresentation of voters, and treats voters unequally.

Many refer to the United States of America as a democracy: a republic that is of the people, by the people, and for the people; where ideals such as truth, justice, and equality reign. However, if one looks closer with a more cynical lens, they might find that this is nothing more than a half-truth. For America is not truly a democracy, as many say it is, but rather a strange mix of a constitutional republic with a dash of democratic ideals. Nowhere is it more evident that America doesn’t truly rely on democratic ideas than in the system of voting used to elect the “Leader of the Free World”: the Electoral College.

Do you believe the electoral college is the ideal method to vote for the next president of the united states? I do not agree with this method of choosing the president and I think the popular vote should be the method of voting instead. In the Electoral College you vote for someone to vote the president for you which defeats the purpose of voting. Especially since that person legally doesn't have to vote for who you want. Also the electoral college makes voting more complicated which differs from the popular vote method which is easier by just counting votes and the winner would be who has the most votes. My last reason for abolishing the Electoral College and using the popular vote method is it would help other parties instead of just the Republican and Democratic parties. As third party candidates never won due to the electoral college being more helpful to the other parties.The electoral college is a complicated and not fair way of voting for the president. The process defeats the purpose of voting and most of the time helps only two parties which give the other parties a very low chance of winning.

The Idaho, Michigan, and Mississippi primaries took place today. According to reporters at the election polls, there is a lot of diversity including race and cultural diversity coming in to vote. I believe that this is a good thing because it allows more information for the exit polls so we can see how different people voted. In other news, a lifelong republican claimed that he would definitely vote for Hillary Clinton before Donald Trump while a 67 year old woman actually told Trump that this is the first time that she has voted and she was proud to vote for him. I am surprised how a lifelong voter is strongly not voting for Trump while a person who has not voted in forty nine years is strongly voting for Trump. I just do not understand why

In recent years, voter fraud has been a controversial topic. Many states have passed or have tried to pass laws that enforce strict Voter ID laws if a person wants to cast a vote in their state. Donald Trump has been someone who has spoken widely on the topic of voter fraud. According to Zeke J. Miller, a writer for Time Magazine, Trump has “repeated his unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud”. I personally do not believe voter fraud is happening this much in our elections and really think some politicians are looking for someone to blame when the outcome is not what they would have liked.