Reforming the Outdated Electoral College: A Persuasive Speech

Persuasive Speech (Monroe’s Motivational Sequence) Reforming the Electoral College Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the Electoral College is outdated and needs to be reformed. Central Idea: I will discuss the most important reasons that the Electoral College needs to be reformed, the promising ways to reform it, and the benefits of reformation. Introduction I. Imagine that you have been shot and the bullet was wedged against your spinal cord. The doctors have told you that it is too risky to remove it, but if left untouched or unnoticed it could paralyze you.

The Electoral College is defined as the dangerous “bullet” wedged against the spinal cord of Americans today. Michael Waldman, executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, stated in the April 2008 issue of Washington Monthly that “politics advances just like medicine and there are new procedures to remove the Electoral College ‘bullet’ without changing the US Constitution. ” While some politicians may disagree and argue that the Electoral College is a key factor of the political system, it is actually a restriction on the way Americans vote.

Exactly like the bullet that has to be removed from your spinal cord, the Electoral College must be removed before our nation becomes forever injured. II. Today, I am going to discuss the necessary need for Electoral College reform. With the research I have done, I know what a trouble the Electoral College is to our nation. A. As college students, we may be new to the process of voting; some of us may have not had the opportunity to have our first vote, but I bet that you want your vote to count when the next election is here. III.

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I believe it is vital to understand the history of the Electoral College and how our country has altered since its foundation. IV. I will explain why reform of the Electoral College is needed, some of the achievable methods of reform, and the benefits of the reformation. (Transition: First lets discuss why there is a need for reforming the Electoral College. ) Body I. The Electoral College must be reformed. A. The first reason it must be reformed is because, there is a chance of electing a president that does not receive the most votes. 1.

A 2007 article in the International Social Science Review reports that each state is given electoral votes equal to the number of senators--each state has two--and the number of representatives. The number of representatives is determined by the population of the state. The minimum number of Electoral votes is three. The total possible electoral votes are 538 with 270 needed to win. 2. Robert Longley, a University of Texas political analyst, wrote in the November 2001 US Government Newsletter that a candidate could win an election without receiving one vote from 39 states or the District of Columbia.

The presidential election can be won by receiving Electoral votes from as few as eleven states. 3. Now does this sound like it could never happen? I thought so too until I found in my research that this has already happened three times. B. The second reason the Electoral College must be changed is the danger of untrustworthy electors. 1. In December 2000, William G. Ross of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, wrote in The Jurist, that “faithless electors provide an element of surprise in an otherwise routine Electoral College ritual.

The electoral vote is a formality for electors to vote for the presidential candidate chosen by their states. ” 2. In a March 2007 USA Today article, Dennis Cauchon reported that twenty-four states have laws requiring electors to vote for the candidate elected by popular vote in their states’ elections. All electors are free, however, to vote as they choose. Only four states penalize the electors, with the harshest being a $1,000 fine. 3. Although you may think just a couple of unfaithful votes will not change anything it does. In the 2000 election of George Bush, two or three faithless electors could have changed the outcome.

C. The third reason the Electoral College must be reformed is because it is old-fashioned, or out-of-date. 1. The Electoral College was recognized by the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. 2. This is when our nation consisted of the thirteen original colonies with a total population of 4,000,000 people spread along the Atlantic coast. In October of 2009, The Electoral College reported on their website that the seaboard was barely connected by transportation or communication and national campaigns were not practical.

Since there was really no way of campaigning they believed that to elect someone would do the best job they needed an Electoral College who understood the politics. If we look at today’s technology and the many ways of campaigning the people are educated on the candidates and understand. (Transition: Now that we have discussed some of the reasons why the there should be change or reform of the Electoral College, I will talk about some choices of reform. ) II. There are two popular choices for reform of the Electoral College. A. The first choice is Instant Runoff Voting, or IRV. . IRV, according to the Center for Voting and Democracy’s website is inexpensive and efficient; voters simulate runoff elections by marking their ballots with a first and second runoff choice. Voters get to rank their choice as an alternative of voting for on candidate of their choice. If there is not a popular winner, the candidate with the lowest ranking is eliminated and the second choice on that ballet is counted. B. National Popular Vote campaign 1. The April 2008 issue of the Washington Monthly says that this campaign would not require a constitutional amendment.

Each state would pass a law agreeing to award all their electors to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. This would be effective when an adequate amount of states entering hold electoral college votes to a total of 270 votes. According to the Washington Monthly, Maryland, New Jersey, and Illinois have all signed the compact, with many more actively debating the issue. (Transition: Now that you know the two options in the reformation of the Electoral College, I will talk about the benefits of reform. ) III. The key benefits of Electoral College reform are the following: A. The elections would be more democratic. . Each voter’s vote would really be counted. B. Voters would then know that their vote counted. 1. With more voters knowing their vote was counted there would be a bigger turnout with voters. C. The citizens would not have to worry about untrustworthy electors. 1. Since they only cast one vote like the rest of the population. Conclusion I. To sum up, I hope you understand and take into consideration the reasons why the Electoral College should be reformed, different routes could be taken in the election process, and the benefits are associated to all of us in this classroom and also the rest of the American votes.

II. I hope the information I have provided you today shows that the reformation of the Electoral College is necessary to each of you in this class so that everyone of your votes count. With the reform our future can see “One person, one vote. ” Works Citied Bolinger, B. (2007, Fall-Winter). Point: abolishing the electoral college. International Social Science Review, 32-34. Cauchon, D. (2007, March). Faithless electors could alter outcome. USA Today, A6. Center for Voting and Democracy. (n. d. ). Instant runoff ballot measures gain key support.

Retrieved October 26, 2009, from http://www. fairvote. org/e_reform. htm Kimberling, W. (2009, October). The electoral college. Retrieved October 29, 2009, from www. fec. gov/pdf/eleccol. pdf Longley, R. (2001, November). The electoral college system, how to lose but win and election. US Government Newsletter, 1. Ross, W. (2000, December). Faithless electors: the wild card. The Jurist, 4. Waldman, M. (2008, April). Majority rule at last, how to dump the electoral college without changing the constitution. Washington Monthly, 56-65.

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