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| Title | Facts Forum News, Vol.5, No. 8, August 1956 |
| Series Title | Facts Forum News |
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| Publisher | Facts Forum |
| Date | August 1956 |
| Language | eng |
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| Identifier | AP2.F146 v. 5 1956; OCLC: 1352973 |
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| Rights | No Copyright - United States: This item is in the public domain in the United States and may be used freely in the United States. The item may not be in the public domain under the copyright laws of other countries. |
| Title | File 020 |
| Transcript | till I Or. Do We Need Ele<t«^Keform? .' *►... ' '•- * iff* :s i **"^ ses/^ Alffai* ,Mf • atn^. sr» T^ff* ' *^ WIDE Uiilll Election year and party conventions focus our attention once again on the validity of our present system of election. Do you approve of the way we elect the President and Vice President? Is the electoral college obsolete? Does your vote really count? Here is an appraisal of the present and projected electoral provisions. Tin method of election of the President and Vice President of the United States was not only the source of considerable and vociferous debate before the adoption of the Constitution; it has continued to be a target for proposals of "reform" throughout most of the 167 years of our history as a nation. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787 two major opposing points of view developed: that of creating a strong centralized federal government, and that of emphasizing the relative independence of the states in all matters, with slight federal authority. The tempest is still raging. The Great Compromise of 1787 endeavored to incorporate both points of view insofar as possible, not onlv by the creation of a republic, but'necessarily also in the method of election of the President and Vice President. The Page 18 system adopted then and still used is that of an electoral college. Three major revisions have been made to Article II of the Constitution through the years, but none of these deals with the electoral college, or has tampered with state laws of unit rule. Unit rule means that the slate of electors in each state which obtains the greatest number of votes, whether or not a majority, is empowered to cast all of the votes allocated to the state. Amendment XII changed the provision for selecting the President and Vice President in case an election does not indicate a majority. Amendment XX is the "Lame Duck" amendment, which changed the date of termination of office of congressmen to take care of the awkward problem created when a member of Congress is defeated in the November election, yet has several months to serve. The last change. Amendment XXII, prohibit* the President from serving for mofe than two terms. A presidential election year is 3 natural time to raise the question "' whether or not the electoral system '■ adequate. This year is no exceptio" although any change adopted won'' not affect this year's contest. The sub] ject has been debated at length in th1' Senate this spring, but as yet no dec1' sions have been reached. Very few people defend the preset system as being entirely fair or j|lS'' Under the operation of the unit riilf' for example, there have been tint'1' Presidents elected who did not evfl gain the popular vote. Out of the h""' dieds of proposals submitted to ('""! gress for improvement of the elector* college system, why haven't a'1* changes been made? There are two primary reason''' Facts Forum News, August, 19^ «fe, |
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