For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. Under the National Popular Vote plan,the compact would take effect only when enabling legislation has been enacted by states collectively possessing a majority of the electoral votes:270 of 538 total. 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. Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. 4. Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power. If the National Popular Vote bill was secured within the American government, it would protect every vote and would allow those votes to equally matter in the presidential election. 9. Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. All other votes cast for that candidate are therefore superfluous. Actually the NPV Compact doesnt change one word in he Constitution and in fact only changes state laws. This unique system of electing presidents is a big reason why Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. Elections Webinar 1 2 3 . The National Popular Vote plan would eliminate what critics of the Electoral College system point to as the "winner-take-all" rule - the awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in that state. A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. 7. Gives too few states too much electoral power. It isnt impossible to pass a Constitutional amendment, though history shows that it is not an easy process to complete. Contact your states liaison to schedule a briefing or to learn more. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. Reduces voter participation by creating a "my vote doesn't matter" feeling. 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. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. 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). In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Inside Ohio or Florida, to pick two examples, the big cities do not receive all the attention, and they certainly do not control the outcome. 8. 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. Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. It would take a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College an unlikely move because of how difficult it is to pass and ratify constitutional changes. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. Thats how the framers of the Constitution set it up. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. That would likely reduce the number of voters who cast a ballot in each election as most people are more concerned about local impacts than national policies. This new series from the AP is dedicated to answering commonly asked questions from our audience about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. It was a great idea in 1787 but the country has changed since 1787 and the people today want to elect the president by a simple, direct popular vote where whoever gets the most votes wins like we do in every other election in the country. cons of the national popular vote planproperty management without a license in texas aot 4, 2022 12:34 . Fifteen states and DC have already enacted it into law, for a total of 196 electoral votes. However that presumably rare exception happened in the 2000 election when Florida could not complete their statewide recount in time for the Electoral College deadline and the Supreme Court forced Florida to use their first vote count without a statewide recount. 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. If there is a tie vote in a states delegation, the states vote would not count. Favouring the Reform 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). 1. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. It has been enacted by twelve states, which include Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California. Would they like to see the system changed? The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. That means some voters, like Republicans in California or Democrats in Mississippi, are voting without power and without attention from their preferred candidates each year. 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. This divide creates natural divisions between groups of people who both support their country, but in different ways. Some areas may bend the rules of an election by extending voting hours illegally. 3. The obvious reason to keep raising the debt ceiling is that it avoids defaulting on the nation's debts. (LogOut/ The electoral college encourages a two-party system and rewards candidates who have broad appeal. 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. 2023 by National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL 50-State Searchable Bill Tracking Databases, Supreme Court to Reexamine Use of Civil Asset Forfeiture. That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. 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. Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress (Senators and Representatives) is the total number of electoral votes it is allowed. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. Or the opposite could be true. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). 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. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. Two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which rely on congressional districts to divvy up electoral votes. 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. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. After the process, the President of the Senate reveals who has officially been voted in as President and Vice President of the United States. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Battleground states would disappear in U.S. elections. 4. "Electoral College Pros and Cons." This leads to an intense focus on battleground states, as candidates look to boost their electoral advantage by targeting states that can help them reach the needed 270 votes of the 538 up for grabs. A switch to the popular vote would eliminate the concept of a battleground state because the issue would be more on issues than states. Wyoming had just 3 electoral votes, but only had 255,000 voters as well. 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria, Samploon, Inc. 2023. And in all states but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in that state is awarded all of its electoral votes, whether the split is 51% to 49% or 99% to 1%. Security would be improved across the country. National Popular Vote is a constitutional and practical way to implement nationwide popular election of the President a goal traditionally supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. What can your students conclude? (2021, February 17). The same thing happened in 2000. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. "Pros and cons of the Electoral College it said this about what supporters think about the electoral college "Naturally . 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. During a popular vote, a candidate who withdraws from the race or dies before the election can be held could still be on the ballot. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. WASHINGTON (AP) WHY IS IT THAT ONE CANDIDATE CAN WIN THE POPULAR VOTE BUT ANOTHER WINS THE ELECTORAL VOTE AND THUS THE PRESIDENCY? 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. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could determine the ability of state law enforcement agencies to use civil asset forfeiture, a practice that four states have abolished entirely. The Founders believed that most common citizens of the day were poorly educated and uninformed on political issues. 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. 8. Pro: It's the only way to avoid defaulting. Selected students then present to the class as a whole. In Election 2000, the eight most populous states had 228. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. According to the Constitution, the Electoral College is a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (National Archives). Honorable Steve Cohen; Adam . For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. In contrast, other issues related to the federal government are not exclusively entrusted to the states, and therefore the states lack the power to alter them. In 2016, for instance, Democrat Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in the presidential election, after racking up more lopsided wins in big states like New York and California. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. ; Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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. The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. 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. (They dont always do so.). But she lost the presidency due to Trumps winning margin in the Electoral College, which came after he pulled out narrow victories in less populated Midwestern states like Michigan and Wisconsin. The Compact ensures that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. 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. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. A proposal has been made to restore the one person one vote principle without having to change the Constitution which involves an interstate compact. Join the thousands across the country who instantly rally when there is a threat to our democracy. Change). Image the country thinks it is going to elect the president by National Popular Vote and then changing back to using the old Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system just four months before an election. 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. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. 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. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle.
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