Thomas Aaron

POLS M05

Electoral College Assignment

1. The winner-takes-all electoral system states that any candidate that receives a majority of the

votes, then they get all of that state's electoral votes. I think the biggest consequence here is that

if there are two candidates who are very close in votes (i.e. 51% and 49%) then rather than get

that many electoral votes, the losing candidate loses an entire state's worth of votes. This system

is also a poor way to represent the general public's opinions, as it completely shuts out the

losing parties. It is also greatly biased to voter turnout for candidate which will automatically

eliminate some independent party candidates, since they'd already have a smaller turnout.

2. Maine and Nebraska use the Congressional District Method for their electoral voting. This

system divides the states into districts that each contain a single electoral vote, additionally thee

candidate who wins the most districts also receives that state's two remaining votes. This system

is in theory a much more balanced way to distribute the electoral votes, however, since these

states have put it into practice, neither one has ever split its votes which completely eliminates

the purpose of this method.

3. Proportional voting is the same method used by Maine and Nebraska, where by they split their

votes among congressional districts. In my opinion the proportional voting method is a much

better system than winner-takes-all since it allows for everyone's voice to be heard equally and

gives all the candidates a chance to win the election. It also feels much more in line with the

spirit of democracy and giving more individuality to each electoral vote and state district.