Business Law: Electoral College - Functions, Criticism, and Reform

This business law assignment delves into the intricacies of the Electoral College. It begins by outlining the historical context of its selection, comparing various proposals considered by the Constitutional Convention before the current system was adopted. The assignment then examines the functions and structure of the Electoral College as defined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution, including the roles of electors and the mechanisms for presidential and vice-presidential selection as amended by the 12th Amendment. It also explores the criticisms leveled against the Electoral College, particularly the arguments that it is undemocratic and gives disproportionate influence to smaller states. Finally, the assignment proposes steps for potential reform, focusing on allocating votes based on national popular vote and increasing the inclusivity of small and rural states in the presidential elections. The assignment is well-researched, citing several academic sources to support its arguments.

Running head: BUSINESS LAW
BUSINESS LAW
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Question 1
There were various ideas considered for the method of president selection before the
system of Electoral College was selected by the Constitutional Convention. The first idea was to
let selection of the president by the Congress. The next idea that was selected was to be selecting
president by the way of State legislature. The third idea was to select president by the way of
direct election. All these ideas were rejected for difference of opinion. In the end an indirect
election was proposed by the Constitutional Convention by the way of a College of Electors. The
Electoral College is seen to be following the structure of the Centurial Assembly system that was
followed by the Roman Republic. The number of votes each State is entitled to is determined by
the size of the delegation of Congress of each State (Miller, 2013).
Question 2
The functions and structure of the Electoral College are discussed under the U.S.
Constitution Article II. For the president and the vice-president election each state is needed to
appoint a specific number of Electors who are to meet in their States and vote for two persons by
Ballot. The further functions of the Electors include making list of all people voted for and the
total number of votes received by each, list to be signed, certified and transmitted in a sealed way
and directed towards the President of the Senate (Harrison et al., 2017).
There are four crucial aspects for the mechanisms of the alteration of method of the
selection of President and Vice President in the 12th Amendment. The first was that the electors
needed to vote for two people one of whom should to be from outside of the home state of the

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elector. The second aspect is that there is no need for the electors to differentiate in voting
between president and vice president. Thirdly, if the Electors are seen to be failing to reach for a
majority approval the decision would be made by the way of vote by the House of
Representatives. The final aspect was that since the representatives elected would be meeting
after one year of the election the choice would be made by the representatives defeated in the
recent elections (Chemerinsky, 2016).
Question 3
The Electoral College has been called antidemocratic by the critics who are of the
opinion that the system should be eliminated. The reason behind their movement for the
abolition of the system is that in most states electoral votes are awarded in a basis of the
candidate winning most votes would be taking all of the electoral votes of the state. The second
reason according to the critics for the elimination of the system is that in the current system the
small and rural states have very little influence over the elections (Bugh, 2016).
Question 4
In order to engage the political process of the elimination of the Electoral College the two
steps that are needed to be taken are making national popular vote to be allocated instead of
Electoral College and making small and rural states more inclusive towards the president
elections (Schultz, 2013).

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Reference
Harrison, Brigid C., Jean W. Harris and Michelle D. Deardorff. 2017. American Democracy
Now, 5th edition. New York, McGraw-Hill. Smartbook ISBN: 9781259745089
Miller, Nicholas R. "A priori voting power and the US Electoral College." In Power, Voting, and
Voting Power: 30 Years After, pp. 411-442. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2013.
Chemerinsky, Erwin. Constitutional law. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2016.
Bugh, Gary, ed. Electoral College Reform: Challenges and Possibilities. Routledge, 2016.
Schultz, David. Electoral College Reform: Challenges and Possibilities. Ashgate Publishing,
Ltd., 2013.