Electoral College the Current Function of the Article Critique

Electoral College

The current function of the Electoral College is that each state has a set number of votes for the President, based on the population of that state. The candidate with the most votes in that state would receive all of that state's Electoral College votes. The system has come under fire from critics would point out the flaws in this system. For example, it does not differentiate between a landslide victory and a squeaker, and the Electoral College encourages politicians to only compete in battleground states, ignoring the needs of other states entirely. These concerns are justified, in that a President can be elected despite the other candidate having more votes. This does not sound like a perfectly-functioning democratic system. Critics of the Electoral College have proposed instead that the national popular vote be the method used to determine the Presidency.

As an alternative to the Electoral College, the national popular vote is not a perfect solution.From a functional perspective, the patchwork of different state electoral systems is not built for a national popular vote, as Gregg (2011) points out. Countries that have national election bodies might be equipped for such a vote, but the United States is not. Another issue with the national popular vote is that it might create a higher level of polarization among the electorate than already exists and candidates build their platforms around catering to specific groups that vote in large blocks. The baby boomers are entering their senior years, for example, and this will characterize their voting needs -- such a large block needs to be attended to. Likewise, the Hispanic and African-American votes can be block-like, and candidates would need to tailor to cultural and demographic needs rather than the needs of those in specific states. The NPV plan, therefore, does….....