Justin Bryant

ENC2135
Minor
Research Paper Rough Draft 2
Many people, including myself, recognize the issues with the
government system and the process in which we elect candidates into the
government. The two party system has been around for a long time, with
some slight changes, but consistently the base for elections in the United
States. The issue is that the system raises problems including the
competition, which leads to a divided government, corruption in the system
because of greed, and a lack of representation for other parties or other
views. Thesis: Through time the American Political system has developed
into the flawed two party system that it is today, a multi-platform election
system could suffice and benefit the nation and the government.
In 2014 Gallup recorded a record high with 43 percent of Americans
identifying themselves as political independents. This number has been
increasing annually and demonstrates how many Americans are moving
away from the two party system and want a new platform in electing
officials. The numbers illustrate this with a 30 percent of people favoring
democratic views and a 26 percent favoring republican. Still, these numbers
are not fully accurate due to the people that simply choose either republican
or democratic to ensure that their vote will be of importance. This is exactly
the problem. People will choose a side even if some views do not match their
own because they believe only a vote for either republican or democrat will
matter in the election. People in the United States are disconnected from the

government. The trust is broken and reform is needed. 1) In a text by Stuart

Cornstock-Gray and Joe Goldman this is the main idea. In the text the idea of
democratic reform is brought up and how Obama attempted to do so in a
conference during the summer of 2009. It states that many reasons add to
the loss of trust and engagement in the political system. One key reason is
the image of corruption in the government and dishonesty by officials within
the system. The article then goes on to add a solution. This solution is the
political agenda brought up at the conference which is the vision for
democratic reform. The first part to this vision of the future was that the ratio
of people voting in America would increase and the electorate would be a
better representation of the entire nation and more diverse.
The electoral college system is definitely not perfect. With the way it
works, it is possible for a presidential candidate to win the election, and yet

still lose the

popular vote. Might sound kind of ridiculous right?

So, someone could have much more of the majority of the population vote
for them and yet, still lose the election. This is seen in the highly disputed
election in 2000 where George W. Bush won the electoral vote 271 to 266,
but Al Gore had a higher percentage of the population and actually won the
popular vote. The election basically came down to Florida, in which whoever
won Florida would win the election. It was so close that a mandatory recount
was enforced and the litigation ultimately reached the supreme court which
granted George W. Bush with the victory.

Along with the issues I listed above about the platform now I will

incorporate others and elaborate on these further.

A couple sources I found could definitely be used in my paper to help
my argument. One article discusses the lack of trust concerning the
political process due to mostly corruption. It also talks about a reform
that was developed by activists regarding the political agenda. This
could definitely help in my main focus about how change could be
incorporated and if it would help the nation. 2) In an article by Sarah M.
Wheeler she describes this issue and the issue of the electoral college
itself. The article recounts the incident of the election in 2000 where
Bush won without the popular vote and then describes how the
problem could be solved. The issue is that to fix the issue an
amendment would have to be passed which is extremely difficult and
almost never happens with our current system. The main idea of the
article is that a system where popular vote by the people can be
surpassed by the system and the outcome of an election is to be made
by the supreme court is completely against democracy. Even with the
National Popular Vote Legislation in 2007, which was only passed by
four states, the system is still flawed. This legislation could have made
a difference in the election that year, but other problems arise and this

is just one with the electoral college and the American political system.
Another article analyzes the strength of alternative party systems
which is exactly the idea of my paper.

I also found an article which critiques the electoral college and

demonstrates how it works in our election system.

Reference the television series House of Cards and use it to support my
argument as long as it is credible in some way or another or based off
of real events just maybe exaggerated.

Almost everything can be improved. So why not the political system?

Everyone seems to have problems with the government in some way or
another and a lot of times it can be traced back to the two party system. A
multi-platform election system could offer alternative ways to spread power
amongst the government branches and offer many other a chance to be
elected instead of the standard Republican against Democrat. To fully make
this change would be very difficult, but steps in the right direction could be
made if other parties and other Americans opinions started becoming more
recognized and respected in politics. The beginning would be changing the
way people think. Americans are disconnected from the government for a
multitude of reasons. The most crucial being, a failed trust in the system and
a lack of political engagement. Something needs to change and it starts with
the citizens of the United States of America.
Reallocation of seats
Media coverage
Compare other countries but still to the American people
Breaking down why current doesnt work different political views
Initial thoughts and my ideals
Negotiating the rest of the paper

Trump flipping parties to meet party needs

Poll numbers of American public views on issues vs officials

http://custom-essay-cheap.com/failure-of-te-two-party-system/
http://whistlinginthewind.org/2015/05/11/what-is-the-best-electoral-system/
https://www.quora.com/Is-conservatism-the-opposite-of-liberalism-If-so-whyIf-not-what-is-the-opposite-of-liberalism