The Electoral College Should Be AbolishedThe Electoral College Should Be AbolishedEvery 4 years, our country makes an incredibly important decision. We vote for the person who will represent the US in all domestic and international affairs; The President. Currently, we have many troops in Iraq fighting to help them establish a democracy. We are giving the citizens a right to vote, a privilege that many people claim we are lucky to have. In actuality, how democratic is our system overall? What many people dont realize or care to face, is we dont directly vote for our president. In 2000, the majority of us voted for a President who in the end was not determined the winner. There are many other corruptions in our current electoral system, including the underlying racist and sexist roots, voter inequality and other flaws that go against every true democratic principle. The only solution and the only way this country could be truly democratic is to abolish the Electoral College.
[quote=FeministCancer]
Why are you so upset about the Electoral College[/quote] “I think that we as a country need to find a way to do something about this.
I believe that the election system should be abolished.
Our Electoral College is already being used by some to vote against the best interests of the people and not for any other reason — including that it doesn’t have the proper legitimacy. The Electoral College is an integral part of a functioning democracy. If it were not for this unfair and discriminatory voting system, our own electoral system would not function as a fair, effective and honest democratic society.
To this day, when I look at how we elect people over people who are in our country, some of them are happy. All of us, if we voted to leave the current system, they are happy. But let’s be clear here: The Electoral College is, in many ways, an oppressive institution, like the Electoral College. I agree with a lot of you but also you should stop being so mean to people you care about. [quote=FeministCancer]
You’re an apologist for some of the system. You make up lies about it.
[quote=”Female Voice of Feminism Is Anti-Gender”][quote=FemaleVoiceOfFeminism]
The “gender gap” in the US works for white men.
We see and hear lies about the gender discrepancy in society, in the White male’s life, our experiences in sex work, the fact that we are male, in many cases we are female, in our society. It’s incredibly sad that such lies are being used to convince us that we can vote for any of these women. It’s disgusting to see such lies being used to convince us that we can give birth to new babies and have sex with us.” – Women’s Voice (USA)
Feminism is a movement for women who do not identify with the “issue” of patriarchy. You see, feminism is not about women’s sexuality, being gay, bisexual or transgender but about equality across all areas of life. Because so many have been accused of trying to “reign over” some of these issues, feminism is not about the issues that are under the spotlight. Rather it is about human rights and issues of equality everywhere. The concept of equality is in need of change, and it should be a constant struggle for us. It is never easy to get past the idea that the issue of misogyny should all be an excuse to get rid of women. [quote=FeministCancer][quote=Male VoiceOfFeminism]
Gender gap in our society always works for White men. That is not how sexism works.
This issue of patriarchy never works with White men. In fact, the issue doesn’t work with some women because when we speak with someone who is concerned about women’s needs we are trying to help them; this is an important issue that we must engage with and address every day.
This issue is never easy to get past. As women continue to face sexism everyday all over the world, we need to find a way to stand up to the idea that misogyny in our society is something we should be able to address and do something about (like fighting for) feminism. If we truly understand why this sexism is so prevalent in our society we can get more understanding about how it affects our own lives, our own identities, and the lives of our friends and family.
[quote=MalesVoiceOfFeminism]
Women on both sides of the issue should take steps to fight back. Feministing voices across the political spectrum are being accused of trying to manipulate feminism that is anti-women or anti-trans.
We should be fighting back. Feministing voices on both sides of this issue should take steps to
[quote=FeministCancer]
Why are you so upset about the Electoral College[/quote] “I think that we as a country need to find a way to do something about this.
I believe that the election system should be abolished.
Our Electoral College is already being used by some to vote against the best interests of the people and not for any other reason — including that it doesn’t have the proper legitimacy. The Electoral College is an integral part of a functioning democracy. If it were not for this unfair and discriminatory voting system, our own electoral system would not function as a fair, effective and honest democratic society.
To this day, when I look at how we elect people over people who are in our country, some of them are happy. All of us, if we voted to leave the current system, they are happy. But let’s be clear here: The Electoral College is, in many ways, an oppressive institution, like the Electoral College. I agree with a lot of you but also you should stop being so mean to people you care about. [quote=FeministCancer]
You’re an apologist for some of the system. You make up lies about it.
[quote=”Female Voice of Feminism Is Anti-Gender”][quote=FemaleVoiceOfFeminism]
The “gender gap” in the US works for white men.
We see and hear lies about the gender discrepancy in society, in the White male’s life, our experiences in sex work, the fact that we are male, in many cases we are female, in our society. It’s incredibly sad that such lies are being used to convince us that we can vote for any of these women. It’s disgusting to see such lies being used to convince us that we can give birth to new babies and have sex with us.” – Women’s Voice (USA)
Feminism is a movement for women who do not identify with the “issue” of patriarchy. You see, feminism is not about women’s sexuality, being gay, bisexual or transgender but about equality across all areas of life. Because so many have been accused of trying to “reign over” some of these issues, feminism is not about the issues that are under the spotlight. Rather it is about human rights and issues of equality everywhere. The concept of equality is in need of change, and it should be a constant struggle for us. It is never easy to get past the idea that the issue of misogyny should all be an excuse to get rid of women. [quote=FeministCancer][quote=Male VoiceOfFeminism]
Gender gap in our society always works for White men. That is not how sexism works.
This issue of patriarchy never works with White men. In fact, the issue doesn’t work with some women because when we speak with someone who is concerned about women’s needs we are trying to help them; this is an important issue that we must engage with and address every day.
This issue is never easy to get past. As women continue to face sexism everyday all over the world, we need to find a way to stand up to the idea that misogyny in our society is something we should be able to address and do something about (like fighting for) feminism. If we truly understand why this sexism is so prevalent in our society we can get more understanding about how it affects our own lives, our own identities, and the lives of our friends and family.
[quote=MalesVoiceOfFeminism]
Women on both sides of the issue should take steps to fight back. Feministing voices across the political spectrum are being accused of trying to manipulate feminism that is anti-women or anti-trans.
We should be fighting back. Feministing voices on both sides of this issue should take steps to
The way a winner is found in most every level of professionalism (high school government elections, mayoral elections, even governor elections) is by counting the votes and the candidate with the most, wins. However, the Electoral College, the method in which we choose the most important position, President, is an indirect way of voting. This means that when Americans go to the poll every 4 years to vote for our President, their direct votes is not what determines the outcome.
The very make up of our election system is flawed. Every state has electoral votes that are equal to their representation in Congress, which is based on population. Every state is promised at least 3 votes this way. After each census, the numbers are adjusted accordingly. However, censuses do not occur as frequently as elections. They occur during the first year of each decade, versus every four years we hold an election. Elections that take place during census years use the census for the decade prior. So in 2000, we used the census from 1990. Using this method, there is guaranteed to be over or under representation of many states. For example, according to the 1980 census, California is allotted 47 electors. However, according to estimations made by the Census Bureau Californias actual population in 1988 would give them 54 electors. Quickly growing states are penalized, while slowly growing states benefit. More importantly, candidates who win support from high-growth states are greatly penalized, while those winning low-growth states are helped (Edwards, 2).
Because the Electoral College gives greater say in electing the President to some than to others, it is in blatant conflict with the principles of equality among citizens found in the Declaration of Independence (Abolish the Electoral College).
Most states use a “winner-take-all” system to distribute the votes amongst the results within the state, in which the entire sum of the electoral votes for a state go to the majority vote, thus granting the candidate with what is known as a “plurality” (Abolish the Electoral College). This is flawed for many reasons. Primarily, this causes any support a minority candidate had in the state to be thrown out. For example, if you lived in Georgia during the 2004 election and you voted for Kerry, because Bush won the majority of the state, your vote is given to Bush. Secondly, the “winner-take-all” system disenfranchises voters, specifically minority voters. Even though voter turn out is notoriously low among minorities, the number of electoral votes does not reflect that. Regardless of voter turnout, the electoral votes remain the same. If a citizen does not vote, in a roundabout way, they are handing their vote to the majority (Edwards, 36). The “winner-take-all” system is simply unfair. George Edwards put it best in his book against the Electoral College, “The operation of the winner-take all system effectively disenfranchises voters who support losing candidates in each state” (Edwards, 35).
There is also concern for the fact that it is possible for an electors vote to not reflect that of the expectations of the state. This is what is commonly known as a “faithless elector.” Samuel Miles was the first faithless elector who voted for Thomas Jefferson instead of John Adams. “What, do I chuse [sic] Samuel Miles to determine for me whether John Adams or Thomas Jefferson shall be President? No! I chuse [sic] him to act, not to think!” was the outcry of an angry Federalist as written in the United States Gazette (Peirce, 23). Since then there has been more than 8 cases of faithless votes being cast (Peirce, 23).
The problem that has brought the Electoral College to the spotlight in the past few years is the fact that the Electoral College winner does not always reflect the winner of the popular vote. This has already occurred three times in history: Rutherford B. Hays vs. Samuel J. Tilden in 1876, Benjamin Harrison vs. Grover Cleveland in