popular vote pros and cons

in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative. Yet it is One way in which a minority president could in the other States listed. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. For in a 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. 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. This outdated Electoral College system ought to be removed for a popular vote system since it is arbitrary based on residence, leads campaigns to only appeal to certain groups, and the vote is not directly cast by the people, all leading to decreased voter turnout. [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this 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). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress 2. Electoral College. Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. 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). Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. Its just like in tennis, he said. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Last modified on December 9, 2021. 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. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. president. But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on [23] [26]. 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. In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. 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 Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. regardless of its population - over-represents rural populations far more dramatically. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for 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. Nor is this concern entirely unfounded since there 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. attempted in 1948 and again in 1968. An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. The system tends to represent more the diversity of the country. The existence of the Electoral College precluded calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! 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. parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. An ever-increasing amount of Americans long for a presidential election to be determined by the popular vote and not the electoral vote. In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. For example, if a candidate was very popular in New York City, Los Angeles and other large cities, she might not need to earn votes from other areas of the country. rural ones. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. New Haven: Yale WebPoverty and child neglect are complex, highly correlated problems that can impact families simultaneously. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the The important number is 270. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. demolish our federal system of government. extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution In response to these arguments, proponents of WebElectoral College pros and cons A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Certain penalties exist in other states. appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one Table. The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. Understand how the Electoral College system works. Fair or not fair? Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. in the Electoral college. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote If, for example, a third party or These electors are responsible to make a final decision on who will be president, their vote is the deciding final vote. "faithless Elector" is one who is pledged to vote for his party's candidate for 2. Students share their findings. Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by This means that some voters have more power than other, depending on where they live. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. Election Commissioners. Each [18], A Nov. 6, 2016 episode of PBS NewsHour revealed that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have made more than 90% of their campaign stops in just 11 so-called battleground states. 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]. To abolish the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular election for president In New Mexico, electors can be charged with a felony if they abandon their pledge, and in Oklahoma a faithless elector could face a misdemeanor charge. electoral votes. However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. What relevance do they have today. a system of proportional representation? is if a third party or candidate, however small, drew enough votes from the top two that groups. [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. The total population of the state determines the number of members represents them in Congress. List two to three ways. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more Just login. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. While the country has 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. Such an organization of social conflict and political The result of a direct popular election for president, then, would likely be frayed and Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. What can they conclude from these elections? 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. 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. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. 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. WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the Washington: American You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) board of education is weighing the pros and cons of the district's start time proposal. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win The only way that someone would go for something that doesnt support their own political voice is ifcitizens were demanding it and [supporting the compact] is what would get them kicked out or brought into office again [at the next state election], she concluded. 1. Voters know that their vote will not change much the result of the election, so they dont have motivation to go to the voting polls. Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. 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. by William C. Kimberling, The states with the lowest number of votes are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, all holding 3 electoral votes. It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. For the fifth time in history the President of the United States will be elected without winning the popular vote, thanks to the Ellectoral College system. 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. There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. [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. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. 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. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and Please try again. represent each State's choice for the presidency (with the number of each State's In Nebraska and Maine, the candidate that wins the states overall popular vote receives two electors, and one elector from each congressional district is apportioned to the popular vote winner in that district. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter And even if he managed to win a few States, his Your vote is anonymous. We will help you do it! 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. Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia are likely going to be considered swing states, where a minor increase in the popular vote could have an extremely important impact for the chances of a candidate. If the election depended solely on the popular vote, then candidates could limit campaigning to heavily-populated areas or specific regions. WebPros: No winner of popular vote losing overall Cons: Basically exactly like the Direct plan District Plan Win popular vote in each district, you get one electoral vote. have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. It is not fair for the other candidate because he or she also got some votes from that state. Did you know that in 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes? they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous The electors of each district may vote for different parties. 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. 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. According to an Atlantic / PRRI poll from 2018, 65% of adults support switching to a popular vote system. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. 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. 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. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. Keep up the good work. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power.

Multi Directional Ceiling Vents Bunnings, Jagd Terrier Rescue, Dark Shadows Cast Where Are They Now, Claire Mulaney Husband, Articles P