Day 3: Much Reading

Thesis: reading a lot of articles today
The Compact Clause and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
(raises questions about the compact's constitutionality).
Issues with the Electoral college
(The most popular problem I'm seeing is the ability of a candidate to lose the popular vote but win the electoral vote and thus win the election, candidates focusing on only swing states and continuing that focus through the presidency in order to win reelection. Also, as in other articles, I am seeing opposition to the "winner take all" rule used to assign electoral votes. The use of this system is prevalent because it gives the state maximum power in the electoral college).
Pluses and minuses of the national popular vote interstate compact
(Concludes that NPV would diminish the electoral college, even out media coverage disparity between swing states and spectator states, eliminate the use of the House contingency procedure, and ameliorate sectionalism. However, the downsides are increased campaign spending, the weakening of the two-party system, and the introduction of structural imbalances in the election system. The structure of the NPV allows member states to withdraw at any time. Also there are issues with constitutionality that have not been resolved).

Some more structural stuff:
I think I will have to go through each stage of the election and look at issues with them, since it appears that the academic community concedes that there are problems with the caucuses and electoral college. I will have to address these in addition to my problems with election platform integrity. Because of all this, I am thinking that my final product might be a timeline of my improvised election process.

College:
My next scholarship app is due at the end of September so I finally have more time for college essays. I am brainstorming ideas for the Common App essay and Topic C for Apply Texas. Also, I created an account on Cappex in addition to my existing Fastweb account and will be looking for more college and scholarship info through there.