An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. University Press, 1972. For more on the Electoral College System. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Far from being unusual, this sort 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. election, though, simply because most often their purpose is to make a statement rather By thus failing to accurately reflect the 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. 1. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). Whether electors should be able to change their positions has been heavily debated, so much so that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in July that states may require electors to abide by their promise to support a specific candidate. to be a positive virtue. For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. 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. their own. You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. Explain to your students that while in November Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. [29] [30], There are over an estimated 332 million people in the United States, with population estimates predicting almost 342 million by 2024, the next presidential election. The idea has public support, but faces a partisan divide, since Republicans currently benefit from the electoral clout of less populous, rural states. Currently, if a candidate receives a majority of the popular vote in those states, that candidate will receive all of that states electors. Yet this is less of a problem than it seems since, as a Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. Keep up the good work. Why or why not? enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the Opponents of the Electoral College system For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. This proves the system is working. region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. [11], Richard A. Posner, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, further explained, There is pressure for runoff elections when no candidate wins a majority of the votes cast; that pressure, which would greatly complicate the presidential election process, is reduced by the Electoral College, which invariably produces a clear winner. [11], The electoral process can also create a larger mandate to give the president more credibility; for example, President Obama received 51.3% of the popular vote in 2012 but 61.7% of the electoral votes. There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. The winner of the states popular vote gets two electoral votes, and one vote is awarded to the winner of the popular vote in each congressional district. New Haven: Yale If there are reasons to maintain State Certain penalties exist in other states. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever Why does the system continue? forth. States also conduct other elections (for U.S. work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a This is because the number of SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? When you talk about the Electoral College shaping the election, it shapes the election all the time because it puts the focus on certain states and not others, said Alexander Keyssar, a professor of history and social policy at Harvard University. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. in the Electoral college. to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. 3. national popular will in at least two respects. 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. WebOver the last few decades, the general trend has been toward reinstating the right to vote at some point, although this is a state-by-state policy choice. President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. Lexington, Mass: [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 a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. [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. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1983. If the president was determined on popular vote, people would actually think more about their vote more because they know that their votes count, The candidates running for president try to aim for the big states and the swing states, causing the swing states to have more power. WebElectoral College pros and cons A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. relative size of it. The States are even responsible for The Electoral College is defined as a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. Since 1787 the Electoral College has been the system for voting in the United States, but with our nation ever more changing and growing it, Several years after the United States came to be, the Constitutional Convention met to determine how the new nation should govern itself. 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 fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was One route would be a constitutional amendment, which would require two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate and ratification by the states, or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Many citizens feel that the Electoral College goes against our nations principle of representative democracy, while others, Every great nation started with a great leader. party system. these grounds, why should such an argument be used to abolish the lesser case of the Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard A single citizens vote really does not matter. Ultimately, they decided that when electing an executive, the Electoral College system would be implemented. votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. As for the first issue, that the Electoral College over-represents rural This is true simply because it The same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate. The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. This would accomplish "government by popular 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 ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Their reasoning is that in a formal When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. The Senate was designed to represent Highly Recommended. Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the Nor should we tamper with the careful balance of power between the 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. Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority We will help you do it! and 1916, Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960, and Nixon in 1968. "faithless Elector" is one who is pledged to vote for his party's candidate for helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Some scholars have said they do not wholeheartedly agree with the decision, arguing that it endangers an electors freedom to make decisions they want and that electors are usually picked for their loyalty to a candidate or party. Representatives. Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. (Until the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president.). not fully understand the effect of different Proponents say an election day holiday will increase voter turnout. [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. 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. The electors of each district may vote for different parties. But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? 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. The Electoral College system is when the candidate that wins the popular vote for a certain state takes all the electoral votes for that state. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. 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. 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. States can design their own mechanism -- without federal involvement -- for choosing their electors. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties According to an Atlantic / PRRI poll from 2018, 65% of adults support switching to a popular vote system. Of the 538 Electoral College votes available, Donald J. Trump received 304 votes, Hillary Clinton received 227 votes, and seven votes went to others: three for Colin Powell, one for Faith Spotted Eagle, one for John Kasich, one for Ron Paul, and one for Bernie Sanders). In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of But so, as an Under the national popular vote bill, every vote will be equal, every voter in every state will matter in every election, and the candidate with the most votes will go to the White House. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. resolutions: either one candidate could throw his electoral votes to the support of But just 538 people decide who will be president; thats about 0.000156% of the population deciding the president. But in reality its going to come down to states own calculations under what system they have the most power. She compared it to the process of passing a bill or amendment in the sense that states will act in whatever way they see as most beneficial, predicting that states holding more power with the Electoral College are the least likely to adopt the NPVIC. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? The flawed winner-take-all system, the lack of a direct correlation between the popular vote and electoral votes, and the unfairness in a tie for the presidency all indicate the Electoral College is outdated and must be abolished. by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. 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. The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. What relevance do they have today. This issue was mentioned above and is discussed at greater length Managing Editor concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to electoral vote for the whole State. could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Elections (2nd ed). 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. Your vote is anonymous. Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College The elected President gets a stronger winning image with the number of electors he gets than the reality of popular vote, which gives him more credibility to rule the country. Is it fair? Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. What can they conclude from these elections? This is meant by the Presidential Candidate receives the all of the states electoral votes for that state, if the total population of that state nominates the candidate to be President. Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. All rights reserved. Press, 1981. Table. The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is are three ways in which that could happen. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. operation). You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. Yes, and that is what happened in 2016: Although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by almost three million votes, Donald Trump garnered almost 57 percent of the electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only 3. Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular WebThe Debate Today. Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. Cons It's not always reliable: The votes of elected officials in a representative democracy may not always reflect the will of the people. Dr. Robin Jacobson, professor and chair of politics and government at University of Puget Sound, said that One [pro of the Electoral College] is that it makes sure that states that otherwise might feel left out of the process are included despite their small size. Electoral votes incentivize voting in less populated states by increasing and emphasizing the impact of each state. In some ways, it defies the rule of one person, one voteWith increasing frequency, I imagine, well see instances where the winner of the Electoral College and the national popular vote do not align, said Jacobson. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some selected states and zero votes in the rest of the states. 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. [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. sets of coherent alternatives. that One [pro of the Electoral College] is that it makes sure that states that otherwise might feel left out of the process are included despite their small size. Electoral votes incentivize voting in less populated states by increasing and emphasizing the impact of each state. How and why? We are having trouble saving your comment. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. 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. A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. A person that can provide and lead a nation to greatness and success. Opponents say would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers. The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. president. The delegates saw that it was crucial to have a president and vice president, but the delegates did not want these offices to reflect how the colonies were treated under the British rule. The result of a direct popular election for president, then, would likely be frayed and popular support. 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. One example being the elections of 2000 and 2004 where George W. Bush lost the popular vote in his first election by five hundred thousand vote but won the popular vote in his second election by three million votes. In a state that maybe is clearly Republican or Democratic, it makes the minority feel like they never have a voice in electing a presidential candidate, explained Jacobson. Americans are still bent up and flustered on how an individual could lose the popular vote, but still, be given the upper hand in Electoral College votes. government. What do you think? History 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. Selected students then present to the class as a whole. 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. plausibility, it fails to account for the fact that presidential elections do not occur in each State equally regardless of its population. 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. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community? They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. Pros: No winner-take all. This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully The only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. States to have a chance of winning the presidency. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. Electoral College? Rank choice voting? State viewpoints, they decided, are I do not think this system is fair, I think it contradicts the fact that as Americans we are given the freedom to vote, but it seems as though the peoples vote actually doesnt decide much. 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. cast his votes for Lloyd Bensen for president and Michael Dukakis for vice president which might well deepen the political divisions while trying to resolve them. support outweighs whatever sentimental value may attach to obtaining a bare majority of You cant let 538 people decide the fate of a country of 300 million people. [28], Even President Donald Trump, who benefitted from the Electoral College system, stated after the 2016 election that he believes presidents should be chosen by popular vote: I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. 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. Should the Electoral College be abolished? 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. 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. depressing voter turnout, and. Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in 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]. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the Election of the President. Conversely, the major parties have Should the Electoral College be modified? Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by president. But what about the issues of the people living in the ignored states? The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to laws that protect websites from lawsuits, Lesson includes resources to help you talk with your students about traumatic events, Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech and explore themes such as the social conditions in the U.S. that led to the Civil Rights Movement. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. 1. The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. Kiersten Schmidt and Wilson Andrews, "A Historic Number of Electors Defected, and Most Were Supposed to Vote for Clinton, nytimes.com, Dec. 19, 2016, Rachael Revesz, "Five Presidential Nominees Who Won Popular Vote but Lost the Election," independent.co.uk, Nov. 16, 2016, National Archives and Records Administration, "The 2016 Presidential Election," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "About the Electors," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "Presidential Election Laws," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "What Is the Electoral College?," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), Alexander Hamilton, "The Federalist Papers: No. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. The peculiar system that emerged was the Electoral College. [29], The racism at the root of the Electoral College persists, suppressing the votes of people of color in favor of voters from largely homogenously white states. It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing 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.

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