Columbia Law School Undergraduate Representation, Articles N

Longley, Robert. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." It was a compromise between those who wanted direct popular elections for president and those who preferred to have Congress decide. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. Policy Research - National Conference of State Legislatures That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. 13 Early College High School Pros and Cons, 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. The National Popular Vote Plan to Bypass the Electoral College 5. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Rural voters would almost always be in the minority. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. (The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress.). This unique system of electing presidents is a big reason why Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. 6. If the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact becomes law it would be an excellent first step to help get a future amendment to the Constitution to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect the president with a national popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. 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. Abolishing the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment, a lengthy and often unsuccessful process. After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. Anyone can read what you share. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. By continuing well assume youre on board with our, https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Select a writer from a large pool of experts. But in practice it could happen every 10 or 20 years when the Electoral College votes change because the congressional boundaries change with the new population census. Pros: Gives the smaller states an equal voice. Due to some states being heavily populated in comparison to others, that may help a candidate quickly obtain a win. In fact, part of a presidential candidates campaign strategy is drawing a map of states the candidate can and must win to gather 270 electoral votes. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. Gives too few states too much electoral power. National Archives:U.S. Watch out! The country thinks we are going to elect the president using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system tans and then four months before the election we change to the National Popular Vote Compact system and elect the president by whoever gets the most popular votes. And finally, the Electoral College doesnt work today anywhere near how the Founding Fathers intended it to work when they created it back in 1787. The Early Learning Fellows Program is a year long opportunity to legislators and legislative staff particularly interested in the topic of early care and education. The conference's consulting services on policy issues go beyond testifying. The framers enacted the provisions relating to the Electoral College to allow for state innovation. Our experts will write for you an essay on any topic, with any deadline and requirements from scratch, Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. The same thing happened in 2000. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus its two senators. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. 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. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. 4. Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. And that would undermine the legitimacy of the NPV among those people. 5. The popular vote eliminates this issue too. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 7. 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 Bush and Al Gore (Black). Common Cause Read the overview below to gain an understanding of the process and explore the previews of opinion articles that highlight diverging views on this voting system. Reduces voter participation by creating a "my vote doesn't matter" feeling. Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. National popular vote plan. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. University of Colorado Boulder 2. States boyd, william j.d., "electoral college system challenged." national civic review 55.9 (1966): 519-23. Selected students then present to the class as a whole. The winner would receive all of the compact states electoral votes, giving them at least the necessary 270 to win the White House. Cleveland ran again four years later and won back the White House. On average, studies show that falls in line with historical averages showing around 60 percent of eligible voters casting a vote in presidential election years. BREAKING NEWS: Announcing the 2022 NAPA Top DC Advisor Teams. Many people may feel that any major change in how we elect the president should be in the Constitution and not in a legal loop hole even if its legal and technically constitutional. The aim of the National Popular Vote is to ensure the popular vote dictates the Electoral College results, making "every vote in every state" count. Bring about direct popular election of pres and do within change. Students share their findings. That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. If the presidential election were switched to the popular vote, then it would only take about 35% of the vote for a candidate to win. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. (Voters in one of those states, Colorado, on Nov. 3 backed membership in the compact after opponents of the measure collected enough signatures to put the law on the ballot as a referendum.) Hence, the National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact a type of state law authorized by the U.S. Constitution that enables states to enter into a legally enforceable, contractual obligation to undertake agreed joint actions, which may be delayed in implementation until a requisite number of states join in. ThoughtCo, Feb. 17, 2021, thoughtco.com/electoral-college-pros-and-cons-4686409. Start and finish your paper with ease. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. America is known to have the costliest, prolonged, and complicated structure when electing a head of state. 27 Major Pros & Cons Of The Electoral College " The Electoral College needs to go, because it's made our society less and less democratic." Pete Buttigieg, Politician Advantages & Disadvantages of the Electoral College The Electoral College is an organ that elects the president of the United States. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. The Compact ensures that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election. The Electoral College has also awarded the presidency to candidates with a plurality of the popular vote (under 50 percent) in a number of cases, notably Abraham Lincoln in 1860, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. There was a lot of confusion over how Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. 7. As of now, 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Delaware and Oregon. So you run a campaign designed to maximize your votes in those few largest states. President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. The Electoral College system has been a topic of debate for many years. NCSLs experts are here to answer your questions and give you unbiased, comprehensive information as soon as you need it on issues facing state legislatures. The nations founders hoped to quell the formation of powerful factions and political parties, and they wanted a mechanism that did not rely solely on popular majorities or Congress. 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. 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. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. Even though we will be able to elect the president by national popular vote using the The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, eventually the rules for how we elect the president should be an official part of the Constitution. The Electoral College is very undemocratic and riddled with issues. Following the unprecedented and volatile 2020 presidential race when the popular vote winner was clear on Election Night, but final results still took days it's never been more clear that the Electoral College needs a major overhaul. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. 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. Outgrowing the Electoral College - Purdue Policy Research Institute Blog What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? Because of the Winner-Take-All state laws candidates for president only campaign and spend their money in 12-13 swing states because voters in those few swing states determine who wins the election and presidential candidates totally ignore voters in the rest of the country(except to raise money). 1. Critics, however, argue that Founders reasoning is no longer relevant as todays voters are better-educated and have virtually unlimited access to information and to the candidates stances on the issues. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. [ 1] Many of these states dont participate in campaign visits or get televised ads. 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. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. More people live in urban regions, which means they would have a constant sway over the election. If the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact becomes law it would be an excellent first step to help get a future amendment to the Constitution to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect the president with a national popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. Winner Takes All: The Popular Vote Versus Electoral College It would eliminate superfluous votes. After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. Policy Research It would reduce diversity in the election structures. I am confident that when we enter the next phase where the popular vote leans Republican that Republicans will change and be adamant that we should elect the president by direct popular vote and Democrats will be arguing why we should keep the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system. Would they like to see the system changed? Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. In addition, while the Founders considered the electors as being free from any sinister bias in 1788, electors today are selected by the political parties and are usually pledged to vote for the partys candidate regardless of their own beliefs. Lastly, some Americans believe that there would be an increase in voter turn-out if people felt that their vote was viewed as a significant asset to their country. The amendment requires that any change to the rate of compensation for members of Congress can only take effect after a subsequent election in the House of Representatives. 4. The House of Representatives picked Adams over Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote but only a plurality of the Electoral College. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. 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. As an alternative to the long and unlikely method amending the Constitution, critics of the Electoral College are now perusing the National Popular Vote plan designed to ensure that the candidate who wins the overall popular vote in inaugurated president. (2021, February 17). Based on Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution granting the states the exclusive power to control how their electoral votes are awarded, the National Popular Vote plan requires the legislature of each participating state to enact a bill agreeing that the state will award all of its electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, regardless of the outcome of the popular vote in that specific state. Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. Great Smoky Mountains National Park crews battle rough terrain in NCSL Child Welfare Fellows program is designed to support legislators and legislative staff who are experienced or emerging leaders in child welfare policy. 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. The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. 27 Major Pros & Cons Of The Electoral College - E&C The Founders believed that most common citizens of the day were poorly educated and uninformed on political issues. Electoral College vs. popular vote in the United States FEC:The Electoral College It could help to reduce partisanship. But theres a separate movement that calls for a compact of states to allocate all their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, regardless of how those individual states opted in an election. As of July 2020, a National Popular Vote bill has been signed into law in 16 states controlling a total of 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states, 8 medium-sized states, 3 big states (California, Illinois, and New York), and the District of Columbia. PDF The Direct Election Plan - tesd.net However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. How could this happen? Although it is sometimes conjectured that a national popular election would focus only on big cities, it is clear that this would not be the case. Gordon Kaye, 68, of Tampa, Florida was reported missing on April 26. President Trump had earned 232 electoral . Fifteen states and DC have already enacted it into law, for a total of 196 electoral votes. Eliminating the winner-take-all requirement of the Electoral College at the state level would lessen the tendency for the swing states to dominate the electoral process. While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. The 102 extra electoral votes are calculated from allotting two votes for every state and for Washington, D.C. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. Would you like to get a custom essay? Inkwell | Everything You Need to Know About the National Popular Vote That could lead to a very bad situation where, instead of the people voting in November to determine who the next president is, one or two states could effectively decide who becomes the next president simply by joining or withdrawing from the NPV Compact and changing the rules on how the votes for president are counted in the next election. National bonus plan. Fair or not fair? For example: States already have the power to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, although this would be disadvantageous to the state that did so unless it was joined simultaneously by other states that represent a majority of electoral votes. Gives too few states too much electoral power. Why or why not? This brings us to 196 of the 270 (73%) electoral votes needed to activate the pact just 74 votes away. It's time to abolish the Electoral College - Brookings Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. Evidence as to how a nationwide presidential campaign would be run can be found by examining the way presidential candidates currently campaign inside battleground states. The National Popular Vote would go into effect when states controlling 270a simple majorityof the total 538 electoral votes. Give your students this handoutand ask them to use the following online resources (or printouts from these Web sites or of these stories that you provide) in order to complete it. Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons This advance is referred to as the winner-take-all approach. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. The electoral requires that an election which does not receive a majority of electoral votes be taken into the U.S. House of 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. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). That created a voter value of 2.85. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. Texas has 38. But if we set politics aside and focus on what is really best for democracy in our country in the long run I believe that the advantages of using the NPV compact to elect our president outweigh the disadvantages and the best way to elect our president in the 21st century is by direct popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. The state legislatures of the cooperating states would . A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. https://www.thoughtco.com/electoral-college-pros-and-cons-4686409 (accessed May 1, 2023). This means that the U.S. would fundamentally be unable to pay back its existing loans, described by Bloomberg as a "major disaster" that could significantly impact the world economy. Reduces voter participation by creating a my vote doesnt matter feeling. Cons of Electoral College. If there is a tie vote in a states delegation, the states vote would not count. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. on WordPress.com. Under the electoral college system, if a state consistently pulls as leaning to one party, someone who supports the other party may not vote because they feel like there isnt a need to do so. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz often split about 60% of the GOP vote, which allowed Donald Trump to win early primaries with 35% of the vote.