US Presidential Elections

U.S. Presidential Elections
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U.S. Presidential Elections
Introduction
The United States (U.S.) is considered a superpower by many in the world. Also, the country is said to have the largest economy in the world. However, despite being a leader in many sectors in the world, the country still has one of the most outdated electoral processes in the world. Even though the U.S. claims to be democratic and has on many occasions voiced its opinion on the undemocratic proceedings in other countries, the country’s electoral process, with regard to the presidency, is far from being democratic. First of all, the U.S. holds presidential elections every four years. As per the laws of the land, elections in the U.S. must happen in November. “The Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November, in every even-numbered year, is established as the day for the election, in each of the States and Territories of the United States” (Cornell Law School, 2021). For most people, this represents the first problem with the American presidential elections because Tuesdays are considered working days, and most people are usually at work on election day. Aside from the above, there is also the issue of the Electoral College, which has been quite controversial since it was established. Apparently, in the U.S., the popular vote is not the final say on who becomes the president of the country. The Electoral College is the one that decides who becomes the president. How democratic is this, considering the U.S.’s stance on democracy in the world? Furthermore, there is the problem of swing states that is created by the Electoral College as well. In the past two elections, for example, campaigns were highly concentrated in a few states famously known as the swing states. Apparently, these are the states that get to decide who becomes president. For example, in the 2020 presidential election, the key states or swing states that ultimately led to President Joe Biden winning the election included Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania (Mejia and Skelley, 2020). The presence of swing states further limits the democracy of the entire electoral process. Can the U.S. say that they have a democratically elected president? Why give the power to only a few people while the country has the capability to elect a president through popular vote? These are some questions that continually make the U.S. election one of the most controversial in the world but still the most interesting.
Overview of the Election Process
To understand the election process, it is crucial first to understand what the Electoral College is, its role, and the distribution of Electoral College votes in the country. The Electoral College is a group of electors from each of the country’s states who are tasked with electing the president of the country. The electors are equal in number to the members of Congress in the country (USA.gov, 2021). Furthermore, every state gets a number of electors that is equal to the number of members it has in both houses. These electors are the ones who hold the final card in the presidential elections after the popular vote has been cast. Currently, there are 538 electors in the country, and to win the ...