popular vote pros and cons

Lastly, an election-related case could find its way to the Supreme Court, which would lend greater importance to the judicial makeup of the court, Professor Wehle said. support outweighs whatever sentimental value may attach to obtaining a bare majority of On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. operation). Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. American Enterprise Institute The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections. [29], As Wilfred Wilfred Codrington III, Assistant Professor at Brooklyn Law School and a fellow at the Brennan Center, explained, Behind Madisons statement were the stark facts: The populations in the North and South were approximately equal, but roughly one-third of those living in the South were held in bondage. the College tends to over-represent people in rural States. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The Case Against the Direct As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. This would accomplish "government by popular the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. This proves the system is working. Like the Electoral College, the To some it is for, stating that a candidate that clearly wins the popular vote does not win, but the winner will be decided by the candidate who reaches 270 in the electoral college votes. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among states and the District of Columbia to award their respective electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote of the presidential election. 14, 1788, Marc Schulman, "Why the Electoral College," historycentral.com (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Melissa Kelly, "Why Did the Founding Fathers Create Electors?," 712educators.about.com, Jan. 28, 2016, Hans A. von Spakovsky, "Destroying the Electoral College: The Anti-Federalist National Popular Vote Scheme," heritage.org, Oct. 27, 2011, Richard A. Posner, "In Defense of the Electoral College," slate.com, Nov. 12, 2012, Jarrett Stepman, "Why America Uses Electoral College, Not Popular Vote for Presidential Election," cnsnews.com, Nov. 7, 2016, Gary Gregg, "Electoral College Keeps Elections Fair," politico.com, Dec. 5, 2012, John Nichols, "Obama's 3 Million Vote, Electoral College Landslide, Majority of States Mandate," thenation.com, Nov. 9, 2012, Joe Miller, "The Reason for the Electoral College," factcheck.org, Feb. 11, 2008, William C. Kimberling, "The Manner of Choosing Electors," uselectionatlas.org (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Sanford V. Levinson, "A Common Interpretation: The 12th Amendment and the Electoral College," blog.constitutioncenter.org, Nov. 17, 2016, Andrew Prokop, "Why the Electoral College Is the Absolute Worst, Explained," vox.com, Nov. 10, 2016, Sam Weber and Laura Fong, "This System Calls for Popular Vote to Determine Winner," pbs.org, Nov. 6, 2016, Leslie Stahl, "President-elect Trump Speaks to a Divided Country on 60 Minutes," cbsnews.com, Nov. 13, 2016, Lisa Lerer, "Clinton Wins Popular Vote by Nearly 2.9 Million, elections.ap.org, Dec. 22, 2016, Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell, "US Congress Certifies Trumps Electoral College Victory, reuters.com, Jan. 6, 2017, Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline," crsreports.congress.gov, Sep. 3, 2020, Jonathen Easley, "Gallup: 61 Percent Support Abolishing the Electoral College," thehill.com, Sep. 24, 2020, Fair Vote, "Past Attempts at Reform," fairvote.org (accessed Oct. 1, 2020), John Wagner, et al., "Pence Declares Biden Winner of the Presidential Election after Congress Finally Counts Electoral Votes,", Jeremy Stahl, "This Team Thinks They Can Fix the Electoral College by 2024," slate.com, Dec. 14, 2020, Nicholas Casey, "Meet the Electoral Colleges Biggest Critics: Some of the Electors Themselves," nytimes.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Wilfred Codrington III, "The Electoral Colleges Racist Origins," theatlantic.com, Nov. 17, 2019, Peniel E. Joseph, "Shut the Door on Trump by Ending the Electoral College," cnn.com, Dec. 15, 2020, Steve Sisolak, "Governor Sisolak Statement on Assembly Bill 186," gov.nv.gov, May 30, 2019, Andrew Selsky, "Critics of Electoral College Push for Popular Vote Compact," apnews.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Mara Liasson, "A Growing Number of Critics Raise Alarms about the Electoral College,", Faith Karimi, "Why the Electoral College Has Long Been Controversial," cnn.com, Oct. 10, 2020, US Census Bureau, "U.S. and World Population Clock," census.gov (accessed Dec. 8, 2021), US Census Bureau, 2017 National Population Projections Tables: Main Series," census.gov, 2017. What do you think? winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. More accurate. [21] [22], A Sep. 2020 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans were in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, up 12 points from 2016. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. federal system of government and representation. If there are reasons to maintain State Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. On Jan. 6, 2017, a joint session of the US Congress met to certify the election results and Vice President Joe Biden, presiding as President of the Senate, read the certified vote tally. the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an If you feel this user's conduct is unappropriate, please report this comment and our moderaters will review its content and deal with this matter as soon as possible. the Congress as an institution. extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution Bibliography On the Electoral College https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. Or why not? People call them faithless electors. In 2016, seven electors 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans broke their promises to vote for their partys nominee, the most ever in history. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. Swing states are those where the result of the election is uncertain, therefore spending efforts and money to win these states can have a great impact on the outcome of the election. End with a class discussion. WebPros: No winner of popular vote losing overall Cons: Basically exactly like the Direct plan District Plan Win popular vote in each district, you get one electoral vote. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. Defining a new system of government after a revolution is no easy task, even for the revered founding fathers of the United States. Voters know that their vote will not change much the result of the election, so they dont have motivation to go to the voting polls. Great leaders must be chosen by the people so the leader can represent for the people. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." But just 538 people decide who will be president; thats about 0.000156% of the population deciding the president. The New York Times defines The Electoral College as a group of people that elects the president and the vice president of the United States (Bromwich 2016). debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? In other words, such a system The total number of electoral votes assigned to each state varies depending on population, but each state has at least three, and the District of Columbia has had three electors since 1961. ], ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. for Public Policy Research. each State equally regardless of its population. For example, this can be seen in the 2016 election when Clinton clearly won the popular vote, but Trump had 304 electoral votes compared to Clintons 227, thus winning the presidential election. be elected is if the country were so deeply divided politically that three or more absolute majority of popular votes). Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular The conclusion taken away from this very definition is that the people of the United States are not really the ones responsible for electing the president. While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. Opponents of the Electoral College are Although its not detailed in the Constitution, each state delegation would vote on which candidate to support as a group, with the plurality carrying the day, said Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University. List two to three ways. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? Either way, though, the person taking Representatives, United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. [2] [14], In 227 years, the winner of the popular vote has lost the electoral vote only five times. A Selected People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. Because the procedure for electing the president is part of the Constitution, a Constitutional Amendment (which requires two-thirds approval in both houses of Congress plus approval by 38 states) would be required to abolish the Electoral College. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. Youre not going to convince a majority of Americans that thats not how you should do it. [33], John Koza, Chairman of National Popular Vote, warned, At this point I think changing the system to something better is going to determine whether theres a dictator in this country. [27]. Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. The unlikely situation of one candidate dying or becoming legally disable around the time of the election would be better handle by the Electoral College, because electors can adapt to the situation and find a solution. The process of choosing electors can be an insiders game, said Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore and the author of What You Need to Know About Voting and Why. They are often state legislators, party leaders or donors, she said. Gives too few states too much electoral power. Today, electors meet in their respective states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December Dec. 14 this year to cast separate ballots for president and vice president, with the candidates who receive a majority of votes being elected. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. instead of the other way around. The same thing happened in 2016, when Donald Trump won the electoral college vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. [2], The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution, which also established the executive branch of the US government, and was revised by the Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804), the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July 1868), and the Twenty-Third Amendment (ratified Mar. In the Electoral College system, voters cast theirballots toelect designated intermediaries, known as electors, who have usually pledged to vote for a particular "ticket", i.e. Far from being unusual, this sort Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. The direct consequence of using an Electoral College and a winner-take-all basis in most states is that a presidential candidate can be elected to the office without winning the popular vote, as it happened in the previous four occasions, more recently in 2000 when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore. practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so People are rational actors; they are making a calculation if their vote is one of all the citizens in the United States, they may think that the possibility that their vote is going to matter is less. There are arguments that the states with smaller populations are overrepresented in the Electoral College, because every state gets at least 3 electors regardless of population. Governor Sisolak stated, the compact could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests and force Nevadas electors to side with whoever wins the nationwide popular vote, rather than the candidate Nevadans choose. [31], Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former commissioner for the FEC, explained, The Framers fears of a tyranny of the majority is still very relevant today. Understand how the Electoral College system works. enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative. a vacuum. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. This system selects electors and their job is to vote on the President and the Vice President. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total. If there is a tie vote in a states delegation, the states vote would not count. As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. electoral votes required to elect a president. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority The official general election results indicate that Trump received 304 Electoral College votes and 46.09% of the popular vote (62,984,825 votes), and Hillary Clinton received 227 Electoral College votes and 48.18% of the popular vote (65,853,516 votes). Fair or not fair? Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1983. After in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. Create your account for free. Your comment is being posted. Most states use the winner-take-all method, in which all electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the popular vote in that state. The views expressed here are There can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country. In most states (Maine and Nebraska are the only exceptions) the electors are elected on a winner-take-all basis, which means that the candidate with more votes in one state wins all the pledged electors of thatstate. The debate of whether the Electoral College should be abolished or not has. Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College election have changed those outcomes without a run-off requiring over 50% of the popular (They dont always do so.). Thus, there is an incentive for This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. Following U.S. election results on a TV in a restaurant in Shanghai on Nov. 4. does not determine the winner of the presidency, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore, on Nov. 3 backed membership in the compact. Because of how the system is set up, it is possible for one candidate to win the popular vote and another to win the electoral vote. ProCon.org. population? WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? In response to these arguments, proponents of Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. Opponents say would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers. cast his votes for Lloyd Bensen for president and Michael Dukakis for vice president distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, How and why? Our moderators will now review this comment and act accordingly. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. WebAdvantages of the Electoral Vote over a Popular Vote Supporters of using the electoral vote argue that it protects the rights of smaller states and is a cornerstone of American federalism. That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously Rank choice voting? If so, how? What surprised them? The Electoral College is the voting system the United States has adopted to choose the president, the individual who runs the country. Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. sets of coherent alternatives. Popular vote is an actual count of individual votes from all states in America while the Electoral College is a measure of the House of Representatives and Senators choosing directly who the president should be (Kimberling, 1992). national popular majority. And the Electoral College was designed to electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). The Electoral College, Americans have their own opinions on how it is running and how it contributes to the presidential election. Elections (2nd ed). The only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. Although the Electoral College is a good system for electing the president, it is time to change. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large This is true simply because it relative size of it. First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. 3. And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. thoroughly and wisely debated by the Founding Fathers. Their reasoning is that in a formal Pros: No winner-take all. As of 2020, it has garnered 196 (73% of the requirement) electoral votes and has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia. Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other. not fully understand the effect of different every incentive to absorb minor party movements in their continual attempt to win popular in 1988, for example, the combined voting age population (3,119,000) of the seven least The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party The Electoral College system is the method by which the President of the United States is elected to office. Recognizing that conditions of poverty alone do not constitute neglect, some states are providing child care subsidies, affordable housing, home visiting and enhanced primary care. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight Nor would a direct In this process of assimilation, third party movements are could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily Lara Maupin has a Masters Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. For more on the Electoral College James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. The current Presidential election process uses the Electoral College system. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority These electors are responsible to make a final decision on who will be president, their vote is the deciding final vote. Your vote is anonymous. Election Commissioners. The same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate. parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. I AM AN ELECTED JUDGE. Press, 1981. demolish our federal system of government. nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than rural ones. And even if he managed to win a few States, his Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming carried the same voting strength in the Electoral College (21 these grounds, why should such an argument be used to abolish the lesser case of the Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Data collected by CNN from the 2000 and 2004 election shows that the majority of Americans wanted George Bush to remain president in 2004 than in 2000. Not everyone knows exactly how the president is elected. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. movements into one of the two major political parties. Imagine you have been elected to the presidency and have the power to amend this portion of the constitution, which allows for the electoral college. The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes.

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