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The American electoral System EssayThe American electoral brass is essenti wholey ground on policy-making efficiency and partial re typifyation. Political efficiency may be defined as expedient ratio between imminent interests. Partial representation means instructional politics. These devil principles govern the interest-aggregation process, and in general, political relational dynamics in democratic countries. Background At the spirital assembly, the Virginia Plan was used as the arse for discussion and debate. The Virginia Plan called for the executive to be chosen by the legislature (by open suffrage).Delegates from the bulk of orders agree to this system of election. However, the so-called Committee of Eleven formed to labor out details which included the elan of election of the executive. The committee recommended that the election be by a radical of people apporti unityd among the states in the alike(p) numbers as representatives in the US Congress. This g roup of people would be chosen by each state, in a way specialised by the Legislative branch. Gouverneur Morris explained the factors for the change.Among the factors were as follows 1) fear that the president would be chosen by a small group of men who met regularly in level sessions, 2) equal parity among states, and 3) popular elections as mediums for extreme and irresponsible demagoguery. On the 6th of September 1787, the Convention approved the Committees proposal with some opposition from delegates who preferred popular election. The move was ground on the belief that the state government must(prenominal) be a derivative of state sovereignty.As ONeil argued The theory of State sovereignty was assumed as true and valid by all states. The Massachusetts constitution of 1780 decl atomic number 18s that the people of that commonwealth get hold of the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent State with certain limitations there lai d down (3). The move was also base on reactionary ideology. Southern politicians feargond that the popular vote method would lead waste of ballot. As ONeil correctly observedOne reason, purely sectional, existed which made a popular election impossible. The slavery puzzle was an important element in the framing of any plan. The Southern states, with their system of slave labor, would be peril with the loss of their relative influence in the nation, because a large portion of their population could not be trusted with the ballot (4). During the framing of the Constitution, the electoral system was institutionalized, with its efficient guiding principles and framework. However, it was not without opposition.Some of the mental hospital fathers opposed the move, declaring it as an offshoot of puritanic ordeal the fruit of reckless political estimation. However, as ONeil noted A slight reflection, however, allow for convince them that this mode is in perfect harmony with the pit h of the United States Constitution. With the exception of the members of the set up of Representatives, no person holding office downstairs the United States government derives his appointment directly from the people (2). The Term Electoral CollegeThe term Electoral College was never used to learn the general vote of the electors. It was not until in the 1800s that the term electoral college came into use as the share engagement for the electors chosen to cast votes for the professorship and Vice president. In 1845, it was formally written into law. The Nature of the Electoral College in its Early Conception. The composition, nature, and role of the Electoral College are defined in the US Constitution, prior to the passage of the twelfth Amendment. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the US Constitution stateseach State shall appoint, in such(prenominal) Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a turn of events of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Rep resentatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be positive an Elector. In Section 1, Clause 4, the Congress is tasked to determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall cast their votes. honor that the day shall be the same throughout the country. In Clause 3 of the same section, it is determined thatThe professorship and Vice death chair were to be chosen by the electors. Unlike the present system, each elector voted for twain people for president, rather than virtuoso vote for President and one vote for Vice President. To become President, a candidate had to have more votes than any other and must have authentic votes from a majority of the electors. After the choosing of the President, the person with the most electoral votes among the remaining candidates would become the Vice President. If no one received a majorit y of the votes, the decision would be made by the House of Representatives.The form of the Electoral College was based upon several assumptions of the Framers of the Constitution 1) each state should employ the district system of allocating electors, 2) independent judgment would be observed in the casting of vote of all electors, 3) candidates would not pair together on the same ticket, and 4) the system would rarely create a winner, sending the election itself to Congress. The framers of the Constitution intended the Electoral College obviously as a body that would nominate candidates from which Congress could select a President and Vice President.Each state government was free to have its own arrangements for selecting its electors. Revision With the rise of political parties and nationally incorporate election campaigns, the system complicated the 1796 and 1800 elections. In the 1796 election, John Adams was take President, and Thomas Jefferson, Vice President. In 1800, Jeffe rson and Aaron bur tied for the first place. Since all votes were for president, Burrs votes were technically for him even though he was the companionships second option. The Congress remained deadlock for 35 ballots as neither candidate received the majority vote.To resolve the issue, Alexander Hamilton declared his confirm for Jefferson. Congress elected Jefferson President on the 36th ballot. To evacuate this incident from occurring in the future, the US Congress proposed the 12th Amendment. Each elector could only cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice President. The 12th amendment superseded Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution. It was adopted in 1804. Constitutional Theory behind the Electoral System The founding fathers accepted the apprehension that the President and Vice President are elected as executives of a confederation of independent states.In short, in contrast to popular election of members of Congress, the election of both the Preside nt and Vice President must be indirect. James Madison argued that the Constitution was created to be a combination of the state-based and population-based government. The US Congress should have devil houses the state-based House of Senate and the population-based House of Representatives. The President would be elected by a combination of the two methods. Madison was fearful of the growing cynicism of factions within the government.He defined faction as a group of citizens (either a majority or minority) who are united by some common or shared impulse of passion or interest detrimental to the rights of other citizens, in general, to the interests of the community. In Republican governments, factions would be generally curtailed because voter rights and powers are widely distributed. In short, the power of the faction would be lessened under a mixed-state set-up of government. In practice, this was short of impossible. As ONeil noted A sovereign nation and a limited national gover nment were thought impossible.In rightfully opposing all projects of consolidation of the powers of sovereignty, they naturally fell into the error of opposing plan, which tended to the strengthening of the bonds of union, and the developing of a broader national spirit. Jealous opposition to the granting of alike much power to the general government led them to oppose a plan electing a President which would make him the representative of the whole nation (4). Mechanics of the System When a citizen votes for a presidential candidate, that citizen is real instructing the electors to cast their votes for the same candidate.Suppose that the citizen vote for a Republican candidate. The citizen, in essence, is voting for an elector who will be pledged to vote for the Republican candidate. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all the pledged votes of the states electors. Now, each state gets a number of electors equal to its members in the House of Representatives an d one for each of its two senators. The District of Columbia gets three electors. State law determines how electors are chosen. In general though, they are selected by the political party committees within the states. A state with 8 electors would cast eight votes.Currently, there are 538 electors. The majority vote is equal to 270 (requirement to be elected). In general, because Electoral College Representation is based on coitusional allocation, states with larger populations get more Electoral votes. Suppose that no(prenominal) of the candidates win the needed 270 electoral votes, the 12th Amendment require the election to be decided by the House of Representatives. Combined votes of each state are equivalent to one vote. A simple majority is required to be elected. It is possible for an elector to defect and not vote for the partys candidate, because the Constitution does not require them to do so.However, such change in political attitude rarely affects the outcome of the e lection. In some states, defector electors are prohibited from casting their votes. Nomination, Disqualification, and Meetings of Electors State political parties nominate candidates for electors months prior to the choice Day. The US constitution delegates to the state the authority for nominating and choosing its electors. In some states, electors are nominated through primaries. In some states, electors are nominated through party conventions. In other states, campaign committees of each candidate name their candidates for presidential elector.The Constitution prohibits person holding a federal office from being elected or appointed as elector. Note that a person who holds an office has sworn an oath to support the United States Constitution in order to hold either a state or federal office. When such person serves in the Electoral College, such individual is in theory rebelling against the United States. The congress though may remove this function by two-thirds vote in each h ouse. State legislatures determine how its electors are to be chosen. All states choose electors by popular election on the date specify by federal law.Forty eight states and Washington D. C. utilize the winner take all method each awarding its electors as a single bloc. In other states, state legislatures select one elector within each congressional district by popular vote, and select the remaining two by statewide election. In the short-ballot system, voters choose among a list of candidates for the associated elector. At present, only a fewer states list the names of the electors on the ballot. In other states, the voter is required to write-in names of candidates for elector.On Election Day, the electors meet in their respective state capital to cast their electoral votes on crystallise ballots for President and Vice President. Unlike the College of Cardinals, the Electoral College does not meet as one body. Congress has thoroughgoing authority to regular the procedures in use. The election certification official opens the meeting and read the Certificate of Ascertainment. The register states the name of the chosen electors. Then, there is the selection of a president of the meeting. Sometimes, the electors choose a secretary, to take the minutes of the meeting.At the balloting time, the electors choose people to act as tellers. Each elector submits a ballot with the name of a candidate for President. The tellers count the ballots and announce the result. Then the casting of the vote for Vice President follows. After the voting is complete, the electors certify the Certification of Vote. This document states the number of electoral votes cast for both the President and Vice President. Copies are sent to the Senate President. Staff member from the Vice President collects the certificates for the joint session of Congress. The Certificates are arranged in alphabetical order.The Congress declares the winner of the election in the joint session. Conclu sion The present electoral system of the United States is essentially based on the belief that the President and Vice President are executives of a confederation of independent states. As such, they cannot be directly elected by the people. The advantages of this system are quite obvious. First, it prevents the concentration of power in urban areas. Second, it maintains the federal character of the country. Third, it strengthens the status of minority groups. Fourth, it encourages political stability (political polarization). Fifth, it isolates election problems.And lastly, it maintains a clear line of succession. However, the system has not without reproachs. One criticism states that the electoral system destroys the essence of democratic vote, or in general, the true conception of popular sovereignty. A nation without true sovereignty cannot be nation, as what Burke would argue. In essence, the electoral system enhances the aristocratic values of a predicated political system. W orks Cited ONeil, Charles. The American Electoral System. New York HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. The United States Constitution (and other documents). New York Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992.