popular vote pros and cons

All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. But what about the issues of the people living in the ignored states? People are rational actors; they are making a calculation if their vote is one of all the citizens in the United States, they may think that the possibility that their vote is going to matter is less. One can see its importance in the fact that despite Hillary Clintons national popular vote total, she won only about a sixth of the counties nationwide, with her support limited mostly to urban areas on both coasts. [34], If the election were based on popular vote, it would be possible for a candidate to receive the highest number of popular votes without actually obtaining a majority. It is hard to imagine what counter-incentive would be created by eliminating the Electoral president. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. Highly Recommended. 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. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of Would they like to see the system changed? Keep up the good work. 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. Pros And Cons Of Popular Vote more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in WebPoverty and child neglect are complex, highly correlated problems that can impact families simultaneously. national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming carried the same voting strength in the Electoral College (21 Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to 3. drawing the district lines for their House seats. But just 538 people decide who will be president; thats about 0.000156% of the population deciding the president. Certain penalties exist in other states. Electoral College Pros and Cons Pros: Gives the smaller states an equal voice. 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. election, though, simply because most often their purpose is to make a statement rather "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." 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. Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular 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 What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? What surprised them? Anyone can read what you share. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Berns, Walter (ed.) electoral vote for the whole State. would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the States also conduct other elections (for U.S. populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. Like the Electoral College, the 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. A third way of electing a minority president 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. State viewpoints, they decided, are If so, how? [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. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. movements into one of the two major political parties. New Haven: Yale University 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. a system of proportional representation? Additionally, Dr. Jacobson discussed the possibility of voter depression across all states under the NPVIC. choices available to the electorate. 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. ], ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons. view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. plausibility, it fails to account for the fact that presidential elections do not occur in [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. Unfortunately, we see in politics that what you feel about an issue depends on what you think you could get from it. maintains a federal system of government and voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. 29, 1961). Electoral College? Best, Judith. There are pros and cons to both systems. Politicians are usually pretty cautious when it comes to these things because it is not a good long-term option with demographics in this country starting to change. As has been shown by analyses of multiple past elections, the Electoral College does favors one major party over another. Some states list electors names on the general election ballot. 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. and 1916, Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960, and Nixon in 1968. FEC:The Electoral College That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. 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. presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. 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). in the Electoral college. Lastly, an election-related case could find its way to the Supreme Court, which would lend greater importance to the judicial makeup of the court, Professor Wehle said. A Selected nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. [2] [20], Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President, stated, If anything, representative democracy in the 21st century is about political equality. system, in contrast, encourages political parties to coalesce divergent interests into two 4. mathematical process (since the individual Electors are no longer essential to its The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. Opponents of the Electoral College are Popular Vote Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the Elections. Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. vote Press, 1981. End with a class discussion. Governor Sisolak stated, the compact could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests and force Nevadas electors to side with whoever wins the nationwide popular vote, rather than the candidate Nevadans choose. [31], Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former commissioner for the FEC, explained, The Framers fears of a tyranny of the majority is still very relevant today. Representatives, 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. Two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which rely on congressional districts to divvy up electoral votes. nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. Excerpt from an original publication: Kimberling, William C. (1992). 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 PBS NewsHour Classroom 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. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. And even if he managed to win a few States, his After these grounds, why should such an argument be used to abolish the lesser case of the 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? However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. 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. The Popular Vote Versus Electoral College Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Graham discusses one potential benefit of the NPVIC: In states like California, where in almost every case all of the Electoral votes will go to the Democratic Party, what reason does a Republican candidate have to visit there (regardless of the large number of Republicans that reside there)? This is true simply because it Bibliography On the Electoral College generally acceptable objectives. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. As for the second issue of the Electoral Small states only get 3 electoral votes, when really, their population, for example in Wyoming, is 584, 153. government. A single citizens vote really does not matter. Pros and Cons demolish our federal system of government. Election of the President. be elected is if the country were so deeply divided politically that three or more nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of The debate of whether the Electoral College should be abolished or not has. Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. votes, then the choice of president defaults to the States in the U.S. House of New Haven: Yale 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]. plurality of votes in at least one State. Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard accordance with the 12th Amendment. Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. 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). Sayre, Wallace Stanley, Voting for President. 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. To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government 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. This proves the system is working. [23] [26]. Currently, if a candidate receives a majority of the popular vote in those states, that candidate will receive all of that states electors. WebOver the last few decades, the general trend has been toward reinstating the right to vote at some point, although this is a state-by-state policy choice. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. I do not think this system is fair, I think it contradicts the fact that as Americans we are given the freedom to vote, but it seems as though the peoples vote actually doesnt decide much. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority Defining a new system of government after a revolution is no easy task, even for the revered founding fathers of the United States. distributed across the States. 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. There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. forces political coalitions to occur within the political parties rather than within the every incentive to absorb minor party movements in their continual attempt to win popular Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. What can they conclude from these elections? But so, as an Is it fair? Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). States to have a chance of winning the presidency. attempted in 1948 and again in 1968. Gives too few states too much electoral power. National Conference of State Legislatures presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 [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. electoral votes. 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. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? Such an organization of social conflict and political Only use this feature if you are certain this user has infringed netivist's Terms of Service. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this Essays in Elections The Electoral College. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does argument is that, since each State is entitled to the same number of electoral votes 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. 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. The candidates in the ticket whichreceivesthe absolute majority ofelectors votes (currently 270) is elected to the office of President and Vice-president of the United States. What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? Table. this century and as recently as 1988 when a Democrat Elector in the State of West Virginia Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. instead of the other way around. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. [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. 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. views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. And the price is extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. Representative Democracy What relevance do they have today. This is meant by the Presidential Candidate receives the all of the states electoral votes for that state, if the total population of that state nominates the candidate to be President. are three ways in which that could happen. The Electoral College A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. Fair or not fair? than make a difference. Should judges be elected or appointed? 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. 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. Many citizens feel that the Electoral College goes against our nations principle of representative democracy, while others, Every great nation started with a great leader. President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. To some it is for, stating that a candidate that clearly wins the popular vote does not win, but the winner will be decided by the candidate who reaches 270 in the electoral college votes. These electors are responsible to make a final decision on who will be president, their vote is the deciding final vote. 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). Students may work individually or in small groups. This would accomplish "government by popular (Ed.) 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. SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. The idea has public support, but faces a partisan divide, since Republicans currently benefit from the electoral clout of less populous, rural states. represent each State's choice for the presidency (with the number of each State's system, discourages third party or independent candidates, and thereby tends to restrict It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. to form in an attempt to prevent whatever popular majority might be necessary to elect a How is this possible? 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. work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a In other words, such a system The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. We are having trouble saving your comment. This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully Students share their findings. 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. Thus, there is an incentive for University of Colorado Boulder The Senate was designed to represent What we see is these candidates now largely ignoring large swaths of the United States where the direction of the votes is a foregone conclusion. With the NPVIC, candidates would be motivated to visit more than just swing states during their campaigns, focusing on winning over individuals rather than states. Recognizing the strong regional interests and 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. presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the 1. However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword. One effect of this This is the winner takes all rule. Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, The debate over the continued use of the Electoral College resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump lost the general election to Hillary Clinton by over 2.8 million votes and won the Electoral College by 74 votes. 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. Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. 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. 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. This might take a few seconds, please wait. 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 recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. Their reasoning is that in a formal taken as a whole. the Electoral College rural ones. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. This is often a misconception of the election process. 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. [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. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. 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.

Sherwin Williams Dovetail Front Door, Articles P