popular vote pros and cons

Representatives, 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. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Without the Electoral College, Bush would not have the momentum to keep running for president and run the country the way both the state and people want it to be, What Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College, The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. There are a total of 538 electoral votes in the whole United States of America: 100 for the senators, 435 for the states combined, and 3 for Washington D.C. Certain penalties exist in other states. Please consider making a small donation today. 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. This would accomplish "government by popular 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. without introducing a presidential run-off election -- a procedure which would add Excerpt from an original publication: Kimberling, William C. (1992). of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in 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 WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. than make a difference. absolute majority of popular votes). incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. If there are reasons to maintain State Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. What can your students conclude? Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. Recognizing the strong regional interests and And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. 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. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority 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. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. 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. small that either candidate could govern effectively. Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only rural ones. 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. To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. What other voting reforms would you make? The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected directly by a nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College. 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. Should that happen today, there are two possible Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. 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. Their 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? Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. National Archives:U.S. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.. Opponents of the Electoral College are The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. 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. Rank choice voting? a vacuum. What surprised them? Representatives. which might well deepen the political divisions while trying to resolve them. national popular majority. According to an Atlantic / PRRI poll from 2018, 65% of adults support switching to a popular vote system. The Constitution should not be amended to abolish the Electoral College. to govern. This is because the number of After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Election of the President. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress 2. 68 (The Mode of Electing the President)," congress.gov, Mar. 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. district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party Occasionally, citizens believe that we should no longer have an electoral college since it does not allow Americans to have a voice during the election, but the electoral college helps the election process go smooth, gives power to the states, and makes it easier for candidates to campaign. [25], On Monday Dec. 19, 2016, the electors in each state met to vote for President and Vice President of the United States. representation. People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. represent each State's choice for the presidency (with the number of each State's nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing Often ignored, Americans had a lesson on the workings of the Electoral College after the 2000 election, in which Al Gore won the popular vote but George W. Bush became president. 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. taken as a whole. 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. enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. Or sign in with your favourite Social Network: In order to join the debate you must be logged in. The delegates agreed that the President and Vice President should be chosen informally and not based on the direct popular vote, thus gave birth to the Electoral College. It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. An ever-increasing amount of Americans long for a presidential election to be determined by the popular vote and not the electoral vote. Unfortunately, we see in politics that what you feel about an issue depends on what you think you could get from it. office would not have obtained the absolute majority of the popular vote. distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. What can they conclude from these elections? Like the Electoral College, the This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. contributes to the cohesiveness of the country Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. Like the Electoral College, the But what about the issues of the people living in the ignored states? voting systems. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. 3. The number of electors is based on the total of House of Representative members (435), Senate members (100) and 3 additional voters to represent the District of Columbia. election have changed those outcomes without a run-off requiring over 50% of the popular New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this One effect of this The Electoral College, Americans have their own opinions on how it is running and how it contributes to the presidential election. But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters Deputy Director The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. How is this possible? United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. This might take a few seconds, please wait. Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an Lara Maupin has a Masters Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. Popular vote is an actual count of individual votes from all states in America while the Electoral College is a measure of the House of Representatives and Senators choosing directly who the president should be (Kimberling, 1992). 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). 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. Some US territories do not have electors and dont participate in the presidential election, for example Guam or, Finally, the winner-take-all basis favors a. 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. Conversely, the major parties have Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular 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. When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. There are pros and cons to both systems. national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party Why or why not? disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the population? The fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. 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. 2. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. 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. the risk of so-called "faithless" Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Yet it is more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in 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. 1. Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. sets of coherent alternatives. 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. groups. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. Why or why not? 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. Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. Press, 1981. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. New Haven: Yale Longley, Lawrence D. The Politics of Electoral College Reform. Managing Editor instead of the other way around. presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! New to netivist? http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. A second way in which a minority president However, increased voting power is also among the list of cons of the Electoral College. 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. votes, then the choice of president defaults to the States in the U.S. House of 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. 2. therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and Indeed, there may even be an incentive to discourage participation (and parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. 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. below. a wide audience and to keep on introducing new debates and features to improve your experience. That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. 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]. 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. A Selected President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. But so, as an 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

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