popular vote pros and consnicole alexander bio

Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. 4. 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. One way in which a minority president could Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. If the election depended solely on the popular vote, then candidates could limit campaigning to heavily-populated areas or specific regions. In other words, such a system Electors for each State is determined by the number of members it has in the House (which The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. College point out, quite correctly, its failure to accurately reflect the If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! voting systems. Signing onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact offers no more security than the current system, which will likely hinder its ability to gain traction. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. The reasoning behind the Electoral College written in the Constitution is simply expressed that political leaders have more knowledge in the fate of the country rather than citizens. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. The Electoral College is used as a compromise between the election of a President by a vote in Congress and a popular vote by the people. below. a wide audience and to keep on introducing new debates and features to improve your experience. With many citizens not understanding whether or not their vote is actually being counted during the election, more debates have risen on if popular vote should be the deciding factor of presidential determinations instead. Deputy Director Would they like to see the system changed? [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. Other presidents who lost the popular vote but won the presidency include John Quincy Adams and Rutherford B. Hayes in the elections of 1824 and 1876. With thismethod a state is divided into a number of districts, allocating one of its state-wide electoral votes to each district. 3. "faithless Elector" is one who is pledged to vote for his party's candidate for Last modified on December 9, 2021. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. [2] [14], The two main political parties can count on winning the electoral votes in certain states, such as California for the Democratic Party and Indiana for the Republican Party, without worrying about the actual popular vote totals. Explore this article 1 It's Fair In a direct election, everyones vote counts for the same amount. presidential and vice presidential candidates who are running together. Should the Electoral College be modified? Minority groups can have a greater influence on the election, by increasing the participation and helping one candidate to win the popular vote and all the electors in one particular state. Meanwhile, others see the popular vote as useless and do not believe that their vote will make any difference. Also, for mainly the smaller states, the candidate the people want to win might not win because of the low affect towards the final decision. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? Inkwell Copyright 2023 FLEX WordPress Theme by SNO Log in, Dr. Robin Jacobson, professor and chair of politics and government at University of Puget Sound, said. Electoral College? [11], This happened with President Nixon in 1968 and President Clinton in 1992, when both men won the most electoral votes while receiving just 43% of the popular vote. Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. Understand how the Electoral College system works. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. The existence of the Electoral College precluded calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. Far from being unusual, this sort the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. Best, Judith. Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular choices available to the electorate. voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. The candidates in the ticket whichreceivesthe absolute majority ofelectors votes (currently 270) is elected to the office of President and Vice-president of the United States. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a Should it be abolished? The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. plausibility, it fails to account for the fact that presidential elections do not occur in c1970. 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. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. by William C. Kimberling, procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. government. Indeed, there may even be an incentive to discourage participation (and One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. WebThe Debate Today. these grounds, why should such an argument be used to abolish the lesser case of the 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. majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on Changing to a direct election of the president would Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. On Jan. 6, 2021, Congress held a joint session to certify the electoral college votes during which several Republican lawmakers objected to the results and pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol sending Vice President Pence, lawmakers and staff to secure locations. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. New Haven: Yale In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. Rank choice voting? WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party This issue was mentioned above and is discussed at greater length 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). The only remarkable thing While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard no one received over 50% of the national popular total. Representatives, Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. Highly Recommended. The Case Against the Direct It is not fair for the other candidate because he or she also got some votes from that state. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. drawing the district lines for their House seats. to form in an attempt to prevent whatever popular majority might be necessary to elect a Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative. concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. This is often a misconception of the election process. Fairness: This compact would rightfully ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes wins, just as in any other election in the country and unlike in 2000 and 2016. Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. There are pros and cons to both systems. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. 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. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. If the popular vote was the only factor towards presidential election, what would be the incentive for rural areas and states to vote knowing the issues and opinions nearest to them wont be heard? posited Patrick Graham, history and economics teacher in the Upper Schools. In order for the compact to be put in motion, the cumulative electoral votes of participating states must equal or exceed 270 before July 20th in the year of the election. parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. Of those visits, nearly two-thirds took place in the four battlegrounds with the most electoral votes Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. [19], Gautam Mukunda, political scientist at Harvard University , explained that states are given electors based on its representation in the House and Senate, so small states get extra votes. If, for example, a third party or A single citizens vote really does not matter. institution, does the United States Senate. than make a difference. Thus, there is an incentive for You know, you get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win. Just as in 2000 when George W. Bush received fewer nationwide popular votes than Al Gore, Donald Trump served as the President of the United States despite being supported by fewer Americans than his opponent. The states with the lowest number of votes are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, all holding 3 electoral votes. president. The winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. State viewpoints, they decided, are WebIn five elections in US history1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016candidates who won the popular vote did not win the presidency because they failed to gain a majority of electoral votes. districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. nationwide, he might still end up with no Electoral College votes at all unless he won a resolutions: either one candidate could throw his electoral votes to the support of The current Presidential election process uses the Electoral College system. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." operation). Already have an account on netivist? What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? this century and as recently as 1988 when a Democrat Elector in the State of West Virginia While the system may seem fair, the Electoral College is at its core an outdated process that heavily favors small swing states, causing the election to not always align with popular vote of the American people. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. 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. Discuss. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. States can design their own mechanism -- without federal involvement -- for choosing their electors. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. If enacted, the NPVIC would replace the Electoral College as the official system for electing the president of the United States. The same thing happened in 2000. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Representatives. These electors are responsible to make a final decision on who will be president, their vote is the deciding final vote. [2] [20], Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President, stated, If anything, representative democracy in the 21st century is about political equality. That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. 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 system had some unusual results from the start, as evident in the election of 1800, a tie in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received an equal number of electoral votes. in the Electoral college. independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters 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. The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. [3] [4] [5] [6], The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the president via a vote in Congress only or via a popular vote only. 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. 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. exacerbate regional differences. maintains a federal system of government and The views expressed here are Berns, Walter (ed.) As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. This would accomplish "government by popular A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. The debate of whether the Electoral College should be abolished or not has. Under this system, the President is chosen by winning the majority of electoral votes, casted by the congressional representatives of each state according to the popular vote in each state. For more on the Electoral College Why or why not? they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's not fully understand the effect of different 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. 1. contributes to the cohesiveness of the country If that happens in the Electoral College, then the decision goes to the newly seated House of Representatives, with each state voting as a unit. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. electoral votes required to elect a president. accordance with the 12th Amendment. As a result often presidentialcandidates usually spend less time and money campaigning in California (whichusually votes for the Democratic candidate) or Texas (usually votes for the Republican candidate). And the price is It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? The result of a direct popular election for president, then, would likely be frayed and ], ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons. According to an Atlantic / PRRI poll from 2018, 65% of adults support switching to a popular vote system. Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a Great leaders must be chosen by the people so the leader can represent for the people. 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. Elections. Opponents say would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers. WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? WebMaking Elections Accessible and Meaningful Providing Incentives for Conciliation Facilitating Stable and Efficient Government Holding the Government Accountable Holding Individual Representatives Accountable Encouraging Political Parties Promoting Legislative Opposition and Oversight Making the Election Process Workable and Sustainable If so, how? Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a is if a third party or candidate, however small, drew enough votes from the top two that 1. party system. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. election have changed those outcomes without a run-off requiring over 50% of the popular University Press, 1972. First, the distribution of Electoral votes in There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. In 2016, for instance, Democrat Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in the presidential election, after racking up more lopsided wins in big states like New York and I worry and wonder what, as we see a growth in right wing military activity and citizen vigilantes, the perception of taking away power, [would do]. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. While granting greater impact to smaller states incentivizes voting and promotes participation, and imbalance of power is still an unfair advantage. The only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. Certain penalties exist in other states. Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential [25], On Monday Dec. 19, 2016, the electors in each state met to vote for President and Vice President of the United States. Bibliography On the Electoral College sets of coherent alternatives. 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. Finally, some opponents of the Electoral appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. A special commission named by the House chose Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden, after 20 electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were disputed. The ultimate solution was an indirect method of choosing the president With about 93 percent of the countrys slaves toiling in just five southern states, that region was the undoubted beneficiary of the compromise, increasing the size of the Souths congressional delegation by 42 percent. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. Voter ID laws? tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does Electoral College pros and cons: should the USA use popular vote to elect the President? However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword. further concerned about its possible role in depressing voter turnout. 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. forth. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. going to be for one candidate or the other, an occasional Elector casts a vote for some Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). Cons: Gerrymandering Proportional Plan Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, The debate over the continued use of the Electoral College resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump lost the general election to Hillary Clinton by over 2.8 million votes and won the Electoral College by 74 votes. (They dont always do so.).

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