Is the United States a democracy or a republic explain?

While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. A “republic” is a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power. …

Why did the U.S. create the Electoral College?

The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S. Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by popular vote or by Congress. Several weeks after the general election, electors from each state meet in their state capitals and cast their official vote for president and vice president.

What is the United States Electoral College based on?

Electoral votes are allocated among the States based on the Census. Every State is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation—two votes for its senators in the U.S. Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.

What does the Constitution say about democracy?

The Constitution established a Federal democratic republic. It is the system of the Federal Government; it is democratic because the people govern themselves; and it is a republic because the Government’s power is derived from its people.

Why was the Electoral College created?

Not only was the creation of the Electoral College in part a political workaround for the persistence of slavery in the United States, but almost none of the Founding Fathers’ assumptions about the electoral system proved true. The signing of the Constitution of the United States at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Is the Electoral College the only limitation on direct democracy?

The Electoral College was not the only Constitutional limitation on direct democracy, though we have discarded most of those limitations. Senators were initially to be appointed by state legislatures, and states were permitted to ban women from voting entirely.

Is the Electoral College a winner-take-all system?

The winner-take-all system is not federally mandated; states are free to allocate their electoral votes as they wish. The Electoral College was not the only Constitutional limitation on direct democracy, though we have discarded most of those limitations.

How are electoral votes awarded in the US?

In every state but Maine and Nebraska, electors are awarded on a winner-take-all basis. So if a candidate wins a state by even a narrow margin, he or she wins all of the state’s electoral votes. The winner-take-all system is not federally mandated; states are free to allocate their electoral votes as they wish.