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Describe how the Electoral College functions, discuss the main advantages and disadvantages of its continued use, and evaluate a proposal to reform the system without abolishing it. Include your perspective on whether the Electoral College's original rationale is still relevant today and its influence on presidential leadership. Support your discussion with at least two APA-cited references from the assigned resources.

Paper For Above instruction

The electoral college is a constitutional mechanism established to elect the president of the United States, primarily through a system where each state appoints electors equal to its congressional representation, which then vote to select the presidency. Originally, this system was designed to insulate presidential elections from direct popular influence and to ensure that only qualified, capable individuals with preeminent virtue could lead. Over time, the process shifted from state legislatures appointing Electors to a popular vote system in each state, with most states adopting a winner-take-all approach, where the candidate receiving the majority of a state's popular votes secures all of its electoral votes (Hamilton, 1788).

The primary advantage of the Electoral College is that it helps balance power between smaller and larger states, ensuring that less populous states are not ignored in presidential campaigns. It also promotes a federalist approach, emphasizing state interests and reducing the risk of regional domination by populous areas. However, critics argue that the system is outdated because it can produce outcomes where the winner of the popular vote does not become president, as seen in the 2000 election where George W. Bush won despite losing the popular vote to Al Gore (Simon, n.d.). This creates questions about the legitimacy and democratic nature of the process.

Another major disadvantage is the potential for "faithless electors" who do not vote according to the popular vote, which could undermine the will of the voters. Additionally, the winner-take-all approach in most states encourages candidates to focus their campaigns on swing states, often neglecting issues pertinent to states with predictable outcomes. Conversely, proposals to reform the system often suggest either adopting a national popular vote or modifying the Electoral College by proportionally allocating electoral votes. For example, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a proposal where states agree to allocate their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote, effectively circumventing the Electoral College without a constitutional amendment (Levin-Waldman, 2012).

The relevance of the Electoral College's original rationale—limiting the influence of popular passions and selecting virtuous statesmen—remains questionable in contemporary America. Today, presidential elections are heavily influenced by mass media and direct campaigning, rendering the original insulations less relevant. Moreover, the system's tendency to produce presidents who lack the popular vote undermines the broader democratic principle of reflecting the people's will. Its impact on presidential leadership capacity is mixed; on one hand, it requires candidates to build broad coalitions across diverse states, fostering national leadership that must appeal beyond popular majorities. On the other hand, it allows candidates to win the presidency without majority support, potentially weakening their mandate to lead.

In conclusion, while the Electoral College was conceptually justified during the post-revolutionary period to filter popular influence and elevate virtuous statesmen, its continued relevance in modern America is questionable. Its structure arguably hampers the president's ability to claim a direct democratic mandate, which can impact leadership legitimacy. Reforms like the national popular vote can address these issues while maintaining states' influence, but they also face constitutional and political obstacles. Ultimately, preserving or reforming the Electoral College should consider the values of representative democracy and practical governance in contemporary society.

References

• Hamilton, A. (1788). The Federalist Papers, Number 68.
• Simon, D. (n.d.). Public expectations of the president. Retrieved from Defense Spending and the Military-Industrial Complex.
• Levin-Waldman, D. (2012). American national government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc.