Recently, the Electoral College has weathered numerous assaults by people who desire to either modify or completely abolish it via a constitutional amendment, but the founders instituted it as a vital check and balance to our governmental system. Although, the Electoral College is not perfect, it is better than any other electoral alternative, because it is the only system that can preserve the republican form of government guaranteed in Article IV Section 4 of the US Constitution. It also preserves federalism in the election of America’s highest office, amplifies the voice of minorities, limits the opportunity for voter fraud, incentivizes candidates to mobilize national constituencies, encourages people to organize around their specific interests, and induces candidates to devote resources to voter registration and education.
Search Results for: Restoring the Electoral College Part 1
US Senate’s Brain Hemorrhaging Clout
Adam Liptak, in his March 11, 2013 New York Times article, Smaller States Find Outsize Clout Growing in Senate, makes a logical argument, about smaller State’s having disproportionate electoral power in the Senate, based on false premises.
Washington Gridlock
Anyone who has ever driven in Washington DC during rush hour, especially when parkways take on a literal meaning, know they never want to drive there during rush hour again if they do not have to. Washington gridlock traffic, as bad as it is, is a metaphor for legislative bills trying to pass between the US House and Senate.
Government Shut Down
As Congress gears up for another fight over funding the government, the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, once again takes center stage. In the funding process, only the House of Representatives is authorized to originate bills raising revenue for the government and the House has approved a bill that would fund the general operations of the government, but not ObamaCare. For this bill to become law, the Senate must also pass it and the President must sign what was passed by both houses of Congress. So if the government were to experience another shut down whose fault is it?