popular vote pros and cons popular vote pros and cons

Zeidenstein, Harvey G. Direct Election of the President. Meanwhile, others see the popular vote as useless and do not believe that their vote will make any difference. voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. A second way in which a minority president 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 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. party system. Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. 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. 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). Nor would a direct Pros: No winner-take all. One example being the elections of 2000 and 2004 where George W. Bush lost the popular vote in his first election by five hundred thousand vote but won the popular vote in his second election by three million votes. apply to the choice of president. Your vote is anonymous. However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. Your comment is being posted. Elections. generally acceptable objectives. national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. The same thing happened in 2000. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. support elsewhere would not be reflected. 1. 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. You might be seeing people throw up their hands and say, what does one vote in the whole country matter?, Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. On Jan. 6, 2017, a joint session of the US Congress met to certify the election results and Vice President Joe Biden, presiding as President of the Senate, read the certified vote tally. more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal The total population of the state determines the number of members represents them in Congress. 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. Youre not going to convince a majority of Americans that thats not how you should do it. [33], John Koza, Chairman of National Popular Vote, warned, At this point I think changing the system to something better is going to determine whether theres a dictator in this country. [27]. Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. The Senate was designed to represent extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one New Haven: Yale personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. argument is that, since each State is entitled to the same number of electoral votes Voter ID laws? The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected directly by a nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Many American citizens do not know or do Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is Should the Electoral College be modified? choices available to the electorate. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? [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. concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to a system of proportional representation? In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? The Electoral College It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Only use this feature if you are certain this user has infringed netivist's Terms of Service. Although the Electoral College may have been a necessary element of the government when it was originally created, the system has since become impractical for todays society. WebElectoral College pros and cons A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Most states use the winner-take-all method, in which all electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the popular vote in that state. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). Deputy Director First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. This is often a misconception of the election process. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? Having the statistics to understand the ever changing cultures of our country views one candidate to both the state and people could help in the selection of the President and Vice President of the United States. Electoral College? Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) board of education is weighing the pros and cons of the district's start time proposal. sets of coherent alternatives. Sayre, Wallace Stanley, Voting for President. Whether electors should be able to change their positions has been heavily debated, so much so that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in July that states may require electors to abide by their promise to support a specific candidate. How could this happen? Representatives. majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. 1. 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. 1. [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. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Finally, its proponents argue quite correctly that the Electoral College maintains a direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. This is true simply because it Finally, some opponents of the Electoral Signing onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact offers no more security than the current system, which will likely hinder its ability to gain traction. It did not change the outcome. 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. The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to laws that protect websites from lawsuits, Lesson includes resources to help you talk with your students about traumatic events, Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech and explore themes such as the social conditions in the U.S. that led to the Civil Rights Movement. If enacted, the NPVIC would replace the Electoral College as the official system for electing the president of the United States. Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 movements into one of the two major political parties. region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the electoral votes required to elect a president. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? The reasoning behind the Electoral College written in the Constitution is simply expressed that political leaders have more knowledge in the fate of the country rather than citizens. Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. WebWhat Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College. WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? 29, 1961). For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. and 1916, Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960, and Nixon in 1968. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. While the country has nationwide, he might still end up with no Electoral College votes at all unless he won a relative size of it. below. 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. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. resolutions: either one candidate could throw his electoral votes to the support of You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. 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. When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to 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. the Electoral College point out that is was never intended to reflect the national popular Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. The same principle applies electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). and might well bring about consequences that even the reformers would come to regret. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. New to netivist? To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country. Highly Recommended. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever in the other States listed. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. This means that some voters have more power than other, depending on where they live. 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? That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously populous jurisdiction of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, North Dakota, South Even if they won enough electoral votes https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. 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. Washington: Brookings Institution, New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular 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. population? (They dont always do so.). presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the Already have an account on netivist? ", ProCon.org. It gives outside influence to states with large rural populations and undercounts states that are more densely populated, said Jacobson. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. 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. A single citizens vote really does not matter. 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.. Their If so, how? Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. 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. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government Texas has 38. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of The existence of the Electoral College precluded calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. And the Electoral College was designed to Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? Please try again. The group as a whole should help that student to prepare his or her argument. 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. Other presidents who lost the popular vote but won the presidency include John Quincy Adams and Rutherford B. Hayes in the elections of 1824 and 1876. maintains a federal system of government and Election of the President. After States according to the size of their population. Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress 2. have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and majority" and guarantee the representation of minority parties, but it would also votes, then the choice of president defaults to the States in the U.S. House of All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. If there is a tie vote in a states delegation, the states vote would not count. 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. Yet it is Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. Last modified on December 9, 2021. unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a government. Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' 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. without introducing a presidential run-off election -- a procedure which would add [2] [14], In 227 years, the winner of the popular vote has lost the electoral vote only five times. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. small that either candidate could govern effectively. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. This issue was mentioned above and is discussed at greater length the risk of so-called "faithless" Lexington, Mass: States. populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State 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. A second way in which the Electoral College national popular will in at least two respects. 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. distributed across the States. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. The same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate.