Electoral colleges are a famously known electoral practice in the United States during the presidential election. The citizens are given a chance to vote for representatives of their choice from each state. The state representatives then cast their votes for their favorite presidential candidates. This ensures fairness as every region through states has its delegates.
Some of its merits include;
PROS:
1. The minority has a chance in elections: the minority can voice and state their propositions to achieve national growth. This can make a huge influence on the overall election. This may not be possible in elections where the number of votes by citizens directly determines the winners of the presidential position.
2. Promotes political solidity: this system focuses on two main parties, Republican or Democrat hence fewer parties are usually conflicting. These main parties have representatives instead of the actual citizens who may easily conflict due to a difference in ideology.
3. Winners require distributed popularity: unlike other electoral systems where candidates spent their time in their strongholds and neglect their opposing sides, in Electoral College system for one to win you must gather votes from representatives from many different states.
4. Equal representation of voters nationally: each state or district is usually represented in either the house or the Senate allowing voters to voice their needs through their representatives.
5. All states are granted equal powers: irrespective of the number of citizens in a state, there is a representation by an elected representative hence each state has equal powers for both densely and sparsely populated states.
6. Promotes complete national delegation: This is one of the key strongpoints of the Electoral College system. Each state is included in the system through a selected leader even for minority groups. Unlike other election systems that may lack full representation of its citizens or feel neglected due to their small numbers. Each state can, therefore, be said to have participated in the government creation process after elections.
7. Fosters national Unity: Due to the reduced number of major parties, there are little differences among citizens. In most cases, it is usually a two-horse race for the top candidates.
8. Does not largely affect economic growth in the country: Due to unity, political stability and complete national representation there are usually minimal conflicts or chaos hence various economic units prosper
9. Tests leadership skills: for one to win you should convince both the delegates and voters that you are capable of delivering.
10. Non -discriminating: Any leader can view without bias. The electoral system is not very perfect for it experiences some limitations. These include:
CONS:
1. It`s not always the actual representation of peoples will: a candidate may gather many votes from the citizens but fail in the state representatives election. The choice of representatives may not always signify the desires of citizens.
2. It can lower voter`s attendance: candidates with whipping votes may discourage their opponents not to show up for elections with the view that their votes won`t count.
3. There is the possibility of the president with least votes from citizens to win: a presidential candidate can gather less than half of the national votes but reach the 270 thresholds hence get elected president in us.
4. This system may favor smaller states with little population: citizens in sparsely populated states have greater influence than in densely populated states where a single vote from a voter may make a difference.
5. Unpredictable voting trends: since it’s the votes of the representatives that count, we cannot really determine which delegate has more influence.
6. May give room to leaders without proper leadership skills: Candidates without proper leadership skill may be lucky to win the delegates’ election even without proper skills. Those with identifiable skills may win large volumes of public votes and follow from the citizens yet fail to succeed in the representatives` election.
7. May lead voter`s dissatisfaction: The supports of a given candidate may not accept a win by a weaker candidate in the representatives` elections. Angry citizens may protest in support of their candidate whom they had much support for.
8. It`s not voter oriented: Powerful positions like the presidential one, are largely determined by the delegates choice. Unlike other voting systems where the voters have the power to determine their leader, Voters in the Electoral College have their powers in electing state representatives.
9. Losses by candidates: A candidate might spend many convincing people and in political travels yet fail to secure a seat say the presidential position. The candidate might have luckily gathered a large number of votes at the national level. These losses are usually very unbearable and yield adverse health effects due to the stress that may be brought about by such a loss.
10. Voters may feel excluded: Voters at the ground level may feel left out in the government formation process as their votes are held by a single person whose decision can change with time.
