Presidential Election Assignment Instructions
Despite commonly held beliefs about the popularity of presidents, presidents are elected by the Electoral College. This uniquely American institution consists of representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect the president. The total number of electors for each state is equal to the number of senators and representatives from that state in the U.S. Congress. The District of Columbia is accorded three electoral votes bringing the total number of votes to 538. Thus, the magic number for winning the presidency is 270 votes.
Research the most recent presidential election using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet and write a paper on the topic. Include the following in your paper:
- Identify the major issues of concern to voters and compare how each presidential candidate addressed those issues.
- Summarize information relevant to the issues and the election.
- Evaluate the validity of each candidate’s arguments.
- Cite your sources and prepare a title and reference page according to APA standards.
U.S. Presidential Elections 2016 Paper
In the United States, presidential elections happens after ever four years on the Day of Election that is usually held on the first Tuesday that follows the first Monday in the Month of November. In this regard, the U.S. presidential elections of 2016 occurred on the 8th of November, 2016. It was a hotly-contested presidential race between the Hillary Clinton (Democratic Party’s nominee) and Donald Trump (Republican Party’s nominee). The term limits according to the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution binds the incumbent president to only two terms (Karol, 2016). As usual, the 2016 U.S. election process began at the primary elections and caucuses level before proceeding to nominating conventions where the political parties selected their nominees. Each nominee had to announce their running mate. After that, the presidential nominees had to start traversing the country during campaign to sell their views and plans to the citizens and try to win their votes. Both presidential candidates had policy platforms, which Americans did not really care so much about when they went to the polls. During the campaign and presidential debates, both candidates made different proposals regarding the seven key issues: fiscal policy, Supreme Court, student loans, the environment, education, infrastructure and foreign policy (Karol, 2016). These were the most consequential areas where the positions of both candidates appeared farthest apart.
Read Also Your View On Donald Trump Presidential Race
The campaign of both candidates led to a mixture of different feelings and views among the voters. Much of Donald Trump’s campaign focused on image, especially his image as a person considering that he is a person who has had a long history of media exposure. His campaign slogan was Make America Great Again. He was firm on opposing military interventionist policies and free trade deals, which he thought needed an outsider to fix them (Karol, 2016). On the other hand, the candidacy of Hillary Clinton was focused on many themes that included expanding the rights of women, raising incomes of the middle class, upgrading the Affordable Care Act, and initiating finance reform. Her campaign slogan was Stronger Together (Karol, 2016). Throughout her campaign, Clinton did not have an easy time with the press. The press had initially criticized her for refusing to answer their questions. Trump, on the other hand, benefited a lot from the press; according to (Karol, 2016), Trump received more media attention than any other candidate in the American history of politics.
The Electoral College plays a significant role in the outcome of the U.S. Presidential Election. It is the process that was constitutionally established by the founding fathers for creating a compromise between presidential election by Congress vote and presidential election by citizens’ popular vote. Essential to note is that 538 votes comprise the Electoral College; however, the base requirement for electing the President is 270 electoral votes (Kertscher, 2016). It is essential to note that tallying the popular vote is not determinant factor of the winner; instead, as stated earlier in this paragraph, the Electoral College is the key determinant of presidential election. The candidate who wins majority votes in the Electoral College process becomes the presidential winner. However, the President can be chosen by the House of Representatives while the Vice President by the Senate in case none of the candidates hits the 270 requirement. To win the 2016 US Presidential Election, Trump attained 306 electoral votes against Clinton’s 232 electoral votes making Donald Trump the winner (Kertscher, 2016).
Impact of the digital revolution on the Presidential election of 2016
The digital revolution has impacted politics in ways that one could not ever have thought of. Social media is at the center of the current state of political atmosphere in the United States where information is spread in seconds both bad and good. Presidential candidates are using the digital media to send messages and campaign. Donald Trump has taken it to social media to spread information some of which are hate messages towards his opponent. A lot of reaction is generated from such information and the candidates are becoming popular among the youths who are the most users of digital media (Richard, 2016). The perception generated by the digital media about the presidential candidates of 2016 is likely to influence decisions majority of the electorate.
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