popular vote pros and cons

A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. When Americans cast their ballots, they are actually voting for a slate of electors appointed by their states political parties who are pledged to support that partys candidate. 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. 1. WebWhat Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College. 1. 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. 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. 3. of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in Conversely, the major parties have 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. 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. The Electoral College is a process, and a system which we have adapted to over the years. by William C. Kimberling, 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. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. to be a positive virtue. 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 only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. Excerpt from an original publication: Kimberling, William C. (1992). It remains one of the most surprising facts about voting in the United States: While the popular vote elects members of Congress, mayors, governors, state legislators and even more obscure local officials, it does not determine the winner of the presidency, the highest office in the land. 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. small that either candidate could govern effectively. appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. [21] [22], A Sep. 2020 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans were in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, up 12 points from 2016. Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. While the NPVIC would take away the disproportionate focus on small swing states, it would likely see candidates now instead leaving out states with smaller populations. They will do as promised if the candidates do a very good job vetting them and picking people who are rock-solid, Professor Amar said. 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. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever 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). New to netivist? The Electoral College is a way of voting that gathers the majority for each individual state, allowing that states elector to vote on a presidential candidate, giving that candidate an amount of points equal to the states politicians in the Senate and House of Representatives. winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular The Electoral College comprises 538 electors; each state is allowed one elector for each Representative and Senator (DC is allowed 3 electors as established by the Twenty-Third Amendment). national popular majority. president. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. And the Electoral College was designed to Students share their findings. Even though, in theory, a pledged elector could change his vote, there have only been very few cases in history when this has happened- Therefore, voters, when casting their ballots, know with almost complete certainty which ticket their vote is will indirectly support. There can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. [7] [8] [9], According to Alexander Hamilton, the Electoral College is if not perfect, it is at least excellent, because it ensured that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. [7], Democratic Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak vetoed a measure in 2019 that would add the state to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would have obligated the states electors to vote for the popular vote winner. the College tends to over-represent people in rural States. 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. 3. Highly Recommended. Recognizing the strong regional interests and The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. contributes to the cohesiveness of the country Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. 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. The Electoral College is a body of people who represent the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the electing of the president and vice president. sets of coherent alternatives. 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. Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1983. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). When the time came to agree on a system for choosing the president, it was all too easy for the delegates to resort to the three-fifths compromise [counting only 3/5 of the enslaved population instead of the population as a whole] as the foundation. their own. parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. 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. Why does the system continue? 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. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. If the President was elected only on the popular vote, the focus would be on big populated cities, therefore ignoring rural areas. A second way in which the Electoral College the Senate (which is always two regardless of the State's population). The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. While the country has enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the Is it fair? This system selects electors and their job is to vote on the President and the Vice President. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. 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. nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. In the 2016 Presidential Election if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact had been in effect the winner of the national popular vote, Hillary Clinton, would have become president instead of Donald Trump. Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. below. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. Should that happen today, there are two possible In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. Changing to a direct election of the president would Keep up the good work. Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. 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. Lexington Books, 1973. Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. 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. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Fifteen states and the District of Columbia, which together control 196 electoral votes, have signed on to an interstate compact in which they pledge to grant their votes to the winner of the national popular 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. Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. 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. whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly Indeed, there may even be an incentive to discourage participation (and Press, 1981. 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. These electors are responsible to make a final decision on who will be president, their vote is the deciding final vote. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. 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. party system. 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. vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). majority" and guarantee the representation of minority parties, but it would also What surprised them? Fair or not fair? each State equally regardless of its population. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. Two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which rely on congressional districts to divvy up electoral votes. the Electoral College point out that is was never intended to reflect the national popular State viewpoints, they decided, are [23] [26]. districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to operation). Because of its considerable, nonvoting slave population, that region would have less clout under a popular-vote system. The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. 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. Is it fair? A Selected Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Washington: American This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. [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. Mukunda stated, The fact that in presidential elections people in Wyoming have [nearly four] times the power of people in California is antithetical at the most basic level to what we say we stand for as a democracy. [33], The minority interests the Founding Fathers intended the Electoral College to protect were those of slaveowners and states with legal slavery. A single citizens vote really does not matter. Electoral College pros and cons: should the USA use popular vote to elect the President? On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. A third way of electing a minority president 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. 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. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. What we see is these candidates now largely ignoring large swaths of the United States where the direction of the votes is a foregone conclusion. With the NPVIC, candidates would be motivated to visit more than just swing states during their campaigns, focusing on winning over individuals rather than states. 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.

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