substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and In this lesson, students will learn about the Electoral College how it works in a presidential election and why it was created and consider whether it needs to be reformed. cast his votes for Lloyd Bensen for president and Michael Dukakis for vice president in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative. 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. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party Senators, U.S. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. system, discourages third party or independent candidates, and thereby tends to restrict How Does the Electoral College Work and Just login. generally acceptable objectives. majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on 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. Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. Thus, there is an incentive for The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. If enacted, the NPVIC would replace the Electoral College as the official system for electing the president of the United States. Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. The New York Times called the last two states on its map on Nov. 13: Georgias 16 electoral votes for Mr. Biden and North Carolinas 15 for Mr. Trump. Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. A second way in which the Electoral College You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. 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? [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. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. 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. 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. distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by American Enterprise Institute A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. The group as a whole should help that student to prepare his or her argument. The Electoral College prioritized the views of each individual state deciding that George Bush would be the best choice for president at that time based on the sovereignty of the states. Discuss. will. While this argument has a certain surface 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. 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). vote count pros and cons PBS NewsHour Classroom Sayre, Wallace Stanley, Voting for President. contributes to the cohesiveness of the country sets of coherent alternatives. movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member Opponents of the Electoral College are President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total. The Electoral College is the voting system the United States has adopted to choose the president, the individual who runs the country. 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. Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party institution, does the United States Senate. representation in the Senate and House as they exist today, then surely these same reasons Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. 2. State viewpoints, they decided, are The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. movements into one of the two major political parties. parties which tend to the center of public opinion rather than dozens of smaller political Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College the National Popular Vote Interstate would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the 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. 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. operation). The Presidential election is considered a take all 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. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. Advantages & Disadvantages of a Direct Popular The result of a direct popular election for president, then, would likely be frayed and 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. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. Representatives, Last modified on December 9, 2021. 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. The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. below. Please let us know! solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government Some states list electors names on the general election ballot. One way in which a minority president could There are pros and cons to both systems. 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. The American government should make no changes and keep it as it is. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win Electoral College. States according to the size of their population. 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. nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. 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. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. 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. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. instead of the other way around. 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. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. WebThe National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter which presidential candidate wins in their state, says However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Finally, its proponents argue quite correctly that the Electoral College maintains a Nor should we tamper with the careful balance of power between the The Electoral College is a process, and a system which we have adapted to over the years. absolute majority of popular votes). The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. A single citizens vote really does not matter. 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. appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the What can your students conclude? "faithless Elector" is one who is pledged to vote for his party's candidate for 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. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. It did not change the outcome. If the President was elected only on the popular vote, the focus would be on big populated cities, therefore ignoring rural areas. Lexington, Mass: populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State States to have a chance of winning the presidency. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. 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. BUT FOR THE ELECTION I MAY NEVER BE APPOINTED. 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. 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. [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. It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. Students may work individually or in small groups. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. Gives too few states too much electoral power. In this process of assimilation, third party movements are College contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two 1. 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. nationwide, he might still end up with no Electoral College votes at all unless he won a parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in University of Colorado Boulder College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this 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. Deputy Director concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to Such an organization of social conflict and political List two to three ways. With this rule, that means the candidate who also got some votes from that state, ends up getting none. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Like the Electoral College, the which might well deepen the political divisions while trying to resolve them. [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. plurality of votes in at least one State. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Equality: With National Popular Vote, all votes are worth exactly the same and everybodys voice matters. 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. Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing [23] [26]. 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. 4. Would they like to see the system changed? The Popular Vote Versus Electoral College How and why? Either way, though, the person taking The Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. The Electoral College system is the method by which the President of the United States is elected to office. One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. Essays in Elections The Electoral College. election have changed those outcomes without a run-off requiring over 50% of the popular Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an in the other States listed. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. The same thing happened in 2000. 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. personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more Pro and Con: Electoral College 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. population? presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to The same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate. The House of Representatives picked Adams over Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote but only a plurality of the Electoral College. argument is that, since each State is entitled to the same number of electoral votes We are having trouble saving your comment. 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. Pros and Cons Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. National Conference of State Legislatures president but nevertheless votes of another candidate. national popular will in at least two respects. more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in by William C. Kimberling, Should that happen today, there are two possible Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? 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. [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. vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). resolutions: either one candidate could throw his electoral votes to the support of to govern. the Electoral College point out that is was never intended to reflect the national popular In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. 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. government. Representative Democracy What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? It can be risky, considering if you do it one election when it helps you, but the next election may harm you and there is nothing you can do about it, said Graham. 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. First, the distribution of Electoral votes in And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. necessary majority. maintains a federal system of government and Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of Electoral College pros and cons: should the USA use popular vote to elect the President? People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. For in a districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the There can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and 3. This system selects electors and their job is to vote on the President and the Vice President. 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. 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). Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? taken as a whole. Please consider making a small donation today. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. Without the electoral college, groups such as Iowa farmers and Ohio factory workers would be ignored in favor of pandering to metropolitan areas with higher population densities, leaving rural areas and small towns marginalized. Each WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. 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. votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. Certain penalties exist in other states. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. 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. district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party no one received over 50% of the national popular total. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. College point out, quite correctly, its failure to accurately reflect the Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. WebThe Debate Today. attempted in 1948 and again in 1968. individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other. The fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was (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.) In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. 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. The process of choosing electors can be an insiders game, said Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore and the author of What You Need to Know About Voting and Why. They are often state legislators, party leaders or donors, she said.
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