World News – United States – Electoral College completely undemocratic: an American professor

TEHRAN â ???? American professor says electoral college, which is partly rooted in slavery, is completely undemocratic institution

« The Electoral College, which is partly rooted in slavery, is a completely undemocratic institution and makes a mockery of democracy in America, » Robert C Smith, professor of political science at San State University Francisco, told The Tehran Times

Despite its long history of denying the right to vote to people based on race and gender, America today presents itself as the world’s leading democracy

Americans voted for the presidential election on Tuesday Outgoing President Donald Trump of the Republican Party took on rival Democratic Vice President Joe Biden But it looks like the election would not go smoothly this time around given the potential threat to the proper conduct of the ballot

Some Americans believe that outdated and outdated constitutional institutions like the Electoral College can undermine the voice of ordinary people

In the 2016 presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton garnered more national votes; however, she lost to Trump due to the Electoral College

« It should have been abolished a long time ago, but there needs to be a constitutional amendment that makes it virtually impossible to abolish, given the supermajorities required in Congress and in the states, » Smith said, adding : « This may, along with the unrepresentative Senate, pose a major threat to the legitimacy of democracy and a system crisis in America » ​​

« The Electoral College, which is partly rooted in slavery, mocks democracy in America » ​​

Asked about some factors that call into question whether America is a democracy, the professor at San Francisco State University notes that the election does not challenge democracy in America, « but the voter suppression issues, Trump’s refusal to say he will make him accept the election result if he loses, his reluctance to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, the possibility that the outcome will not be Known on election night, the prospect of intervention by the Supreme Court makes it an unusual, controversial and disorderly election, but the American as he is is not in question « 

Describing Supreme Court attorneys as « robed politicians, » Smith argues that the Court has a role to play in US elections inconsistent with democratic principles, and more than historically normal, are highly partisan

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Some restrictions were placed on voters in Texas, a move that has led some experts to say that the battle across America is, in some ways, the continuation of a centuries-old struggle for access to the franchise

Last month Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, abruptly issued an order that limited every county in the state to offering a ballot box

In this regard, the American scholar believes that « what is happening in Texas and elsewhere in the country is part of a long and sordid history of refusal to vote and repression in the United States, which has become increasingly most obvious in recent elections « 

Overall, it looks like Tuesday’s election didn’t go as planned, and no one knows what’s going to happen

However, Smith points out that « polls are generally accurate and reliable; they accurately predicted the popular vote outcome in 2016 »

Underneath all this, many see a Machiavellian approach of the ruling party It wants to preserve power by making it more difficult for certain groups such as minorities, young people and the poor to vote

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Democracy, United States Presidential Election, 2020, Donald Trump, Electoral College, Electoral System