Attempts To Change Electoral College System - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1531 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/06/13 Category Politics Essay Level High school Topics: Electoral College Essay Did you like this example? The preamble to the Constitution of the United States begins with the recognizable phrase, We the people, implying that the form of government laid out in the constitution will be representative of the peoplers will. The formation of the Electoral College in Article II, Section 1, leads to the conclusion that this may only indirectly be the case. The establishment of the Electoral College was the result of compromise as the members of the Constitutional Convention struggled to determine how the President would be elected. While some Founders called for a popular vote, most were at best, reluctant Democrats (Jillson pg. 21). Many did not believe that the common people capable of making the best choice for such an important office in the newly formed government. The Brearley Committee was formed to resolve how the President would be elected. The Brearley Committee proposed that an Electoral College be formed to vote for the President. To balance the interests of large and small states, the Electoral college would give one electoral vote to each state for the for each of the members that state has in Congress. A simple majority would decide the victor. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Attempts To Change Electoral College System" essay for you Create order The original proposal provided that the Senate, in which state representation was equal would select the President from the top five candidates should the Electoral College not reach a majority. When objections that the addition of this power to the Senate made it resemble the aristocracy of Great Britain that America had revolted against, it was decided that the final vote would be made by the House. While the Constitution establishes the Electoral College the states are free to determine the manner in which electors are appointed. There are currently 538 electors in the Electoral College, one for each member of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as three who are designated for the District of Columbia. The three additional votes for the District of Columbia were added in 1961 with the ratification of the 23rd Amendment. Despite its name, the electoral college is not a place. (What is the Electoral College,2018). Instead, it is a method that the founding fathers created as a compromise between those who believed that the president should be elected by Congress and those who believed the president should be elected by a popular vote. Many people tend to forget that the Electoral College was created to ensure fairness and is written into the constitution, often misunderstanding what it can and cannot do. To put things into perspective: a voter in Wyoming has over three times as much power in the Electoral College as a voter in California. For every 134,783 people, they get one electoral college vote, while in California 1 vote represents 410,647 people. California has 55 total votes in the the college but in a winner takes all system if 22 electoral college goes to Republican and the rest to Democrat, the staters electoral votes are all Democrat. However, the Electoral College did not always work fairly or in the way, it was meant to. For most of the course of American history, the Electoral College has reflected the views of the populous and the Electoral College results have matched the popular vote. There have been seven instances when the Electoral College either did not produce a majority winner, did not agree with the popular vote or produced an otherwise disputed result. In the election of 1796 electors voted for two candidates without differentiating between the office of President and Vice-President. The candidate who received the majority of electoral votes became the President and the candidate with the next highest number of votes became Vice-President. This election resulted in John Adams becoming President and Thomas Jefferson who ran against him becoming Vice-President. Problems began to arise in elections, most notably in the elections of 1796 and 1800. The election of 1800 showed John Adams and Thomas Jefferson faced off again. This time Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral votes and the decision was pass to the House of Representatives where Jefferson won ten states becoming President. The elections of 1800 of 1804 led to the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804 which called for the electors to cast two votes distinguishing between votes for President and Vice-President and gave constitutionality to the process by which the offices of both with be decided in the event an electoral majority was not achieved thereby solving the complications of the prior two elections. There have been other attempts to change the system, but the closest Congress has come to trying to amend the Electoral College after 1804 have failed to pass the Senate (Electoral College Fast Facts, 2018). The most notable attempt w as made in 1969, which proposed the direct election of a President and Vice President, requiring a run off when neither candidate received more than 40% of the vote (Electoral College Fast Facts, 2018). This proposed resolution made it past the House of Representatives but sadly failed to pass the Senate. The election of 1824 presented a new problem, John Quincy Adams received fewer electoral votes and fewer popular election votes than opposition candidate Andrew Jackson. Since neither received the necessary majority for an Electoral College win the decision was again referred to the House. As stipulated by the 12th amendment the House now had to choose from among the top three candidates, Adams, Jackson and Crawford. The House elected John Quincy Adams President. The election of 1836 resulted in the Vice-Presidential candidate Richard Johnson missing the majority of electoral votes by one. Per the 12th Amendment, the election was referred to the Senate where Johnson was elected. Today, if in the event that the Electoral Colleges is in deadlock or if no candidate receives majority votes, a contingent election will be held (Electoral College Fast Facts, 2018). In this case, the election of the president goes to the House of Representatives. Each state casts one vote for one of the top candidates to select the winner. Only two presidential elections have been decided in the house; once in 1800, and again in 1824 (Electoral College Fast Facts, 2018). In the election of 1876 twenty electoral votes from four states were disputed by Congress and referred to a bipartisan Electoral Commission for resolution of the election. Though Samuel Tilden missed the electoral majority by one vote and won the popular election the commission awarded all twenty disputed votes to Rutherford B. Hayes and he was declared a winner by 185-184 electoral votes. While some may know a bit of how the electoral college votes, there is little known about who these so-called electors are or how they are chosen. Article II, section 1, clause 2 states that electors cannot be a Senator or representative or anyone holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States may become an elector (About the Electors, 2018). The selection of these electors is a two-part process. The first part of the process is controlled by political parties in each state. The parties nominate electors at state party conventions or they are chosen by a vote through the central committee (About the Electors, 2018). This results in the presidential candidate having a different set of electors in every election. The second step of electing electors takes place on elections day when votes are cast for the next presidential candidate. When people vote, they are actually voting to select their staters electors. In 24 states the Electoral College can vote for whoever they want to. There is no Constitutional provision or Federal Law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their states. Some states, however, require Electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote (About the Electors, 2018). Usually, the electors stay true to their party values in voting for a candidate, but they are not required to. Electors who have pledged to vote for a candidate but end up not are called faithless electors, but more than 99% of electors vote as they have pledged (About the Electors, 2018). In the past presidential election of 2016, the question of how the Electoral College actually worked came into question. Before this election, it seemed that paid no attention to how the president was elected, they assumed that whichever candidate received the most votes automatically won. This, however, is not the case. When Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the Electoral vote, the nation was baffled. How did that seem fair at all? Claims being made such as Russia hacking the election may or may not be plausible explanations for this, but this is not the first time in history a candidate has won the popular vote and lost the Electoral vote. In 1824, Andrew Jackson won the popular vote and lost the Electoral vote, as did Samuel Tilden in 1876, Grover Cleveland in 1888, and Al Gore in 2000 (Revesz, 2016). Instances like these plant the seed of doubt in the minds of the American people. How can the US still be considered a legitimate democracy if the votes cast do not truly equate to voting for a candidate, but voting for an elector to choose a particular candidate? Attempts to change the Electoral College system have not been successful, but who knows what the future of voting holds in store for the United States?

Communism And Its Impact On Society - 1499 Words

Communism is perhaps one of the most controversial political ideas in society. When most people think of communism, most likely the first thing that they will think of is Russia and the Soviets. Yes, the Soviets did have a vast part of the developing of communist ideas, but there is a lot more to that. Since Karl Marx and his colleague Friedrich Engels first came up with the ideas of communism, it has grown to be one of the most frequent topics in world history. Communism has died down since its peak in the Fifties and Sixties after World War II, but the impact will be marked in history books forever. Now what exactly is this complex political idea? Communism describes a society in which every member owns their resources and wealth and products are equally distributed to every citizen in a society (Thompson 297). Basically, everyone in a communist society is at an equal economic class, there is no first, second, and third class families as in democracy. Many people also mix up a simi lar idea known as socialism, and often use their ideas in interchanging ways. Communism is an extreme version of socialism that refers to an economic and political system (â€Å"The Basics of†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Socialism is, however, just an economic system. Both socialism and communism have their own ideas, but are relatively similar. Communism is followed today in countries in Asia and ninety miles south of Florida in Cuba. These countries have their own versions of communism, and many past figures of formerShow MoreRelatedCommunism And Its Impact On Society And The Production Of Good And Society Essay1945 Words   |  8 PagesCommunism, the idea I will be looking at the theory of communism, which describes an end to bourgeoisie (private) property, according to Marx. I will argue that it is not a defensible utopia. I accept that we may not have had a true communist nation, but this highlights the unrealistic nature of communist, rather than its inevitability as Marx believed. Simil arly I will argue the nature of communism as described by Marx necessarily leads to centralised planning, as market relations are abolishedRead MoreMarxism And Communism753 Words   |  4 PagesIn the western world, people view communism as a conquered historical ideology, but communism continues to influence the world today. China, the fourth largest country on the earth, displays the label of communism today. Communism is a ‘classless’ ideology in which all property is owned by a large community and each person receives according to their needs and abilities. Communism is a set of ideas including several different variations and schemes on the philosophy. However, the most accepted andRead Moredoc 11148 Words   |  5 Pagestime in history where there was hostility between many different countries. 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They have different s ystems of government in which only one political party takes control of the state and holds total authority. Russia was the first country that introduced Communism. The October Revolution of 1917 putRead MoreMachiavelli, Locke, And Marx1369 Words   |  6 Pagesprinciples in our society since the beginning of time and because action is preceded by thought, these two go hand in hand. Every choice we make is based on our thinking process, differentiating between what is good or bad, and contemplating cause and effect. Machiavelli, Locke, and Marx all have distinct conceptions of human nature, which has led to a variety of conclusions regarding the political structures of society that still have resonance today, which goes to show how much of an impact their theories

Lawyers, Scientists Urge Ethics in Biological Advances Free Essays

In this news article, the concerns of scientists toward an amoral approach to the advances of biological sciences and engineering are examined. Much of the article centers on a keynote address delivered by Harvard Law School professor Einer Elhauge where the professor states â€Å"The issue is that people tend not to focus on the consequences of certain forms of human re-engineering.† The professor goes on to comment that the great strides in biological science may yield a great number of advances in helping humanity overcome a number of diseases and afflictions, but he also acknowledges that there is great potential for abuse. We will write a custom essay sample on Lawyers, Scientists Urge Ethics in Biological Advances or any similar topic only for you Order Now Examples of such abuse include issues such as altering the sex of a child in the womb or even a deaf family biologically engineering the deafness of their offspring. Ultimately, the Elhuage’s focus is to convince the scientific community that, even though it has biological technology to alter evolution, it should use ethical standards before embarking on the proverbial â€Å"playing God† concept that Mary Shelly warned science about 250+ years ago. To a great degree, the article is accurate in terms of its presentation and call for moral and ethical consciousness. Just because science reaches the technological or biological advances of a highly evolved society does not mean that science can now re-orchestrate what is considered morally acceptable in the hearts and minds of the population. As such, science should understand the limits of ethical and moral behavior and not approach advancements with total mindlessness and amorality. Congressman Calls out Tech Firms on China Ethics. The bulk of the purpose of this article is to put the onus on American and international businesses to reconsider their actions when empowering China by conducting extensive business with the nation. In the article, it is reported that Congressman Chris Smith has taken internet companies such as Yahoo, Google, Sysco Systems, etc to task for going along with China’s internet censorship program. This may not seem like an entirely important issue, but one needs to keep in mind that China is primarily a military-industrial complex dictatorship that has a horrible record for human rights violations. As Smith points out, when American businesses work in tandem with nations with such abominable track records they enable such dictatorships and help perpetuate significant human rights violations. Furthermore, it is noted that journalists in China have been censured and punished and imprisoned for exercising their free speech. Smith suggests that American businesses that contribute to such a scenario should be fined and sanctioned. What Smith is essentially doing here is he is compelling American companies to conform to ethical standards of behavior and that is commendable. However, these companies have limited ability in terms of being able to shape domestic Chinese law. Furthermore, in such a highly competitive international business environment, it is difficult to impose ethics as defined by one nation onto another nation, no matter how noble the cause. Smith’s statements are commendable, but it is not entirely clear if they will be successful. Ethics board fines Dow for giving state workers airplane ride As the title of the article infers, the center of the ethics controversy this article deals with is a fine levied at Dow Chemicals to the tune of $2,500.00 for flying three state college employees to an out of state training program. At the time of the issue of contention, Dow was launching a co-operative training program with the state college (Louisiana Community and Technical College) and provided free airline tickets to employees for meeting purposes. This, however, was a violation of state ethic laws, hence the fine. This scenario strikes one as, well, silly. For Dow to compensate the airline tickets of three state workers so all parties can hash out a co-operative venture hardly seems like unethical behavior, although it is defined as such under state ethics laws. While the whole scenario comes off as much ado about nothing (actually, $2500 to a multi-billion dollar company such as Dow is basically nothing), it technically is a violation of state laws and the levied fine is valid. However, it does not seem like any real, serious ethical violations actually took place. If anything, the situation appears more like an error as the result of an oversight as opposed to a deliberate ethical violation. Oversights, however, are not an excuse for not following directions. In that regard, the decision against Dow was valid and the fine levied justified. Bibliography Anon. (2007, February 9) Ethics board fines Dow for giving state workers airplane ride. The Associated Press.   Retrieved February 12, 2007 from http://money.aol.com/news/ articles/_a/ ethics-board-fines-dow-for-giving-state/n20070209095709990003 Schwankert, Steven.   (2007, February 12) Congressman Calls out Tech Firms on China Ethics. IDG News Service, Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.infoworld.com//07/02/12/HNcongressmanchinaethics_1.html/ article/ sourcedomain =www.dailyfreepress.com MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com Zerey, Ralpha. (2007, February 12) Lawyers, Scientists Urge Ethics in Biological Advances. The Daily Free Press. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2007/02/12/ News/Lawyers.Scientists.Urge.Ethics.In.Biological.Advances-2712941.shtml? How to cite Lawyers, Scientists Urge Ethics in Biological Advances, Essay examples

Effects of Global Economics for Production - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theEffects of Global Economics for Production. Answer: Global economics is the international exchange of goods and services that are usually expressed in monetary units. World economy acts as a simple total of the different country measurements. Over the least standards concerning values in production, use and the exchange of meanings representations and valuations of world economy vary widely as different states have different agendas in some of the aspects brought up by the economics growth in the countries and are mostly governed by the top bodies that try make it a neutral ground for trying to ensure that most countries follow up on the discussed agendas and that they fully play part in achieving the set targets (Anto?nopoulos, 2000). The limiting of world economy questions to only human economic activities where the economy is looked at from the perspective of running in monetary terms, this happens in cases where there is no sure to use efficient market that can be used to help evaluate specific goods and services (Carbaugh, 2010). On shifting global economic landscape the assumption that is of changing the policies mix under new bodies of administrations, the staff now project some near-term stimuli which tend to lead to the gradual normalisation of the monetary policy. There are risks to the global growth outlook that are two faced in that they are deemed to have problems that are seen as to occur over a period of time some of this risk involve, a consensus on cross-border economic integration this brings about the aspect of a widening imbalance in the global aspect which causes sharp exchange movements which if they occur would further build about protectionist intensities due to pressure. This acts negatively to an economy as it breaks the proper flow of income to the economy and also cuts short the aspect of productivity of a country thereby causing ripples in the market as it hurts the market policies that are in place. There is also the angle of having lower growth rates and getting negative implications on the debt dynamics this is so as it occurs when the balance sheets remain in an unprepared manner thereby having the term of impaired this causes the countries to have inadequate progress on reforms wanting to be taken in place. In an in-depth research on the large market, there are underlying factors that work against the economy I that they have high corporate debts and a declining profitability margin all these show that the economies are still exposed and are having troubles sorting the economic crisis on their end (Carbaugh, 2010). Some economies tend to even hurt their economy even more by having low commodity prices and growth policies in terms of expansion policies all these goes back and causes vulnerability as it makes the situation be of precarious economy thereby being quite volatile. Another risk that is faced is the geopolitical aspect which weighs in on the outlook for various regions in which it targets the civil war riddled countries mostly in the middle east. the aspects of war and droughts experienced in this country causes hardships in the directly affected countries as the problems being encountered act as geopolitical tensions and hurts the confidence of a countries economy (Anto?nopoulos, 2000). The Geopolitical Recession: It is known as the geopolitical recession as it highlights it as the year where it has been most volatile in terms of being a political risk environment. this starts off with independent America which is brought up by the policy of America first that was put in philosophy by president Donald Trump who in his pledge says he wants to make the country great. Here it is seen as that when this action happens it shall cause ripples in the global economy as it aides many countries that have organisations that help them in retrospect the head of state to the worlds super power wants this to be done so as there is no angle of comparative weakness (Henning, 2012). He does not trust the globalist multinational corporations in that he deems them to be fraudulent and also that they do not support uplift of American workers. Here the risks in this step are the problems that would arise from having an absent super power this leads to competing states and non-actors to have much more conflict. Anoth er risk is the expansive weakening of institutional architecture. There is the risk of China overreacting this is due to the upcoming of the power consolidation as the leader will be under pressure as he is expected to foresee his countries interests are adhered to and here all peoples eyes will be on him to see whether there is avid tension between his country and that of the US. He is also to challenge the foreign policies inflicted by his country. Another risk is the weaker market this is in the wave of political risks in Europe which are due to disputes over Brexit which can deepen the fruit of mistrust between some of the countries. So here it is seen that she should win the sit and strive to achieve a good relation so as to encourage a positive economic boost (Henning, 2012). Another angle in all this is by virtue of technology and the middle east. Technology is a huge force for economic growth and expansively, but also harbours the ideology of political instability which is used to describe the aspect of technology as the middle east countries do not encourage for technology advancements thereby making their economies to develop at a very slow rate. This negatively affects the country but they refuse to allow such things due to aspect of having energy thus minimizing technology allows the state to control the people and have their loyalty, the other point is connectivity this they cut of via cutting off technology as this are the routes that terrorist of the state communicate and meet to plan how to destroy the nation thus cutting of these things proves a better deal rather than risking. Global economies have grown and diversified what has required a safe house in terms of countries to come to agreements for the sake of the environment and work hand in hand so as to restore the climate and to live well without having misunderstandings that can cause loss of life due to omissions of fundings (Anto?nopoulos, 2000). References Carbaugh, (2010).Global economics. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. Conference on Global Economic Crisis: Impacts, Transmission and Recovery, Obstfeld, M. (2012).Global economic crisis: Impacts, transmission and recovery. Anto?nopoulos, (2010).Genomics: Global economics. New York: Xlibris Corp. In Tavidze, (2014).Global economics: New research. New York, N.Y: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Williamson Henning, (2012).Global economics in extraordinary times: Essays in honor of John Williamson. Washington, D.C: Peterson Institute for International Economics. Aaron, (2007).Global economics: A history of the theater business, the Chamberlain's/King's Men, and their plays, 1599-1642. Newark: University of Delaware Press. DK Publishing, Inc.,. (2012).The economics book. Stretton, H. (1999).Economics: A new introduction. London: Pluto Press.