Places and forms of power (expression orale)

I’m going to talk about the idea of places and forms of power through the issue of the

American Elections. To begin with, I’m going to give you a definition of the notion.

Societies are ruled by power. Some people exercise power and the others must accept these

rules and laws. This relationship of power helps to create social cohesion but it can also lead

to conflicts.

In many countries the population elects those who have and exercise power. It is called

democracy. Now, in order to deal with this idea, I’m going to apply it to the American

elections. I’m going to answer the question: To what extent the US electoral system is

democratic?

First, I will describe the entire process of the American elections from the primaries to the

inauguration day. Second, I will focus on the Electoral College.

The process of the American elections starts with the caucus. They are meetings that happen

in some states to choose candidates for the political party’s convention. Then, during this

convention, the members of each party elect their candidate for the presidential run. It is

called the primaries.

On Election Day, the Americans vote for the Electoral College whose members will vote for

the president.

On Inauguration day, the elected president takes the oath and officially becomes the new

president of the United States.

So far, the process is pretty democratic. Indeed, the Americans have their word to say since

they vote for the members of the political parties and the electors of the Electoral College.

However, the Americans don’t directly vote for the president. Now, I’m going to deal with the

Electoral College and see to what extent it is democratic or anti-democratic.

The Electoral College is composed with the electors who vote for the president. An elector is

someone who is elected by the Americans. Each state has different number of electors

according to its density of population. When a candidate wins the majority, he or she takes

all the votes of the Electoral College of the state and the loser takes nothing. There are 530

electors in the United States and to become president, the candidate must win the majority,

that is to say 270 electors. The candidate, who wins 270 electors or more, goes to the White

House!

Nevertheless, this Electoral College can cause problems. Indeed, in case of a tie between the

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