GP210—week six assignment

GP210—week six assignment

Electoral College

This is one of our more challenging assignments because it is one of the least understood areas of our democracy. As your readings for this week point out, the President is not elected by a direct vote of the people but rather by the Electoral College. Some argue that this discourages voters from voting if they live in a state that goes for Democrats or Republicans in every election. Voter turnout in “battleground” or “swing” states such as Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania does tend to be higher but there are also reasons for this system.

For this assignment answer the following questions in an essay: 1.How are the number of electoral votes decided for each state? How many electoral votes are in your home state? Which Presidential candidate (Obama or Romney) won your state’s electoral votes in the 2012 election? 2.Explain the “pros and cons” of the electoral system. Why do we have the electoral system? What are the arguments against it? Don’t just give one or two – there are many arugments for and agianst the electoral college – give as many as you can and be sure to explain each and every one of your answers. Don’t just say, “it encourages a minority president.” What does that mean and why would it be good or bad? Show me that you understand what you are saying. This question and the next are the most important questions in the assignment so spend most of your time on them.

3.Explain what you think. Should the U.S. maintain the current Electoral College system, move toward a national popular vote system, or use the “proportional voting” system for the Electoral College used by Maine and Nebraska? Be sure to respond to the opposition of your opinion because as your instructor I will be asking the opposing question in my mind as I read your opinion. You will need to anticipate that in your answer. (I said this would be one of our more challenging assignments, didn’t I?)

As with all weekly written assignments, submit your work as an attached file. Double-space your paper, indent each paragraph 1/2 inch, and use 12 point Times New Roman as your font.

You may not use websites such as “ask.com” or “wiki answers” in your writing assignment. There are lots of great resources, such as these listed below that provide you with information to answer these questions. •http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/map/historic.html •http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html#whyec •http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html •http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2012/11/defending_the_electoral_college.html •http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/12/23/voter-turnout-swing-states/1787693/

Be sure to list any of the websites you used for your research by copying and pasting the link at the bottom of your assignment.

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