Electoral College System

Rapoport begins by saying that "some pundits" warn that the 1988 elections might result in the denial of victory to the presidential candidate who gets the greatest number of votes (315). He makes the "pundits" sound like foolish worriers and then says that this unlikely event should not "be misused to spark opposition to a venerable and useful institution of U.S. politics" (315). Simply because an institution is venerable, that is old, does not mean that it should be retained if it does not serve some purpose. Rapoport claims that the Electoral College is useful. His entire argument, therefore, will depend on whether he can prove that it is, in fact, useful. Though he does not admit the possibility that people's oppo

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e balancing of the rights of the states as equal members of the union against their differences in population really need to be corrected for by the Electoral College? Wayne argues that the present system is undemocratic. His arguments are convincing and Rapoport's arguments in favor of the system actually support the very ideas that Wayne considers undemocratic. Rapoport, for example, says that a popular vote would undermine the two party system while Wayne argues that this is exactly what it should do. The winner-take-all system that is used by most of the states is exactly the reason why someone who does not win the most votes could be elected by the College. This system favors the largest states and gives inappropriate weight to the votes of those in the smallest states. There is no representation provided by the system for the minority point of view in such states. Thus, and this is the most important argument against the system, all votes are not equal. The two-party system is not mandated by the constitution and a system that allows for more parties is, by nature, more democratic. Rapoport's arguments in this respect are groundless. He says that it would be difficult, without the Electoral College, to elect a pr
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1389
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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