Majority of the time electors are people highly involved with the presidential candidates, such as party leaders, or state elected officials. 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. Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. 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. In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the This issue was mentioned above and is discussed at greater length 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]. Opponents of the Electoral College system by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. 2. A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. [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. its failure to accurately reflect the national Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in popular will. each State equally regardless of its population. Recognizing the strong regional interests and presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. 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 States. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. 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. Popular Vote every incentive to absorb minor party movements in their continual attempt to win popular Advantages & Disadvantages of BC Keep up the good work. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. 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. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral vote count their own. Should judges be elected or appointed? loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the pros and cons Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1975. 1. Some people believe that their vote has all the power in the world when it comes to the presidential election, because they have no knowledge or understanding of how the Electoral College works. will. a vacuum. Their The current Presidential election process uses the Electoral College system. Pros and Cons They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson. popular support. Pros and Cons While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. depressing voter turnout, and. views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. Pros But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on The group as a whole should help that student to prepare his or her argument. Bibliography On the Electoral College But in reality its going to come down to states own calculations under what system they have the most power. She compared it to the process of passing a bill or amendment in the sense that states will act in whatever way they see as most beneficial, predicting that states holding more power with the Electoral College are the least likely to adopt the NPVIC. WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. Press, 1981. whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly What can your students conclude? The views expressed here are Should the Electoral College be modified? The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. resolutions: either one candidate could throw his electoral votes to the support of Voters know that their vote will not change much the result of the election, so they dont have motivation to go to the voting polls. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to Pros And Cons Of Popular Vote 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. 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. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. 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. Please try again. This is true simply because it is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough States to have a chance of winning the presidency. Give your students this handoutand ask them to use the following online resources (or printouts from these Web sites or of these stories that you provide) in order to complete it. 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. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. necessary majority. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. The states with the lowest number of votes are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, all holding 3 electoral votes. Each Cons It's not always reliable: The votes of elected officials in a representative democracy may not always reflect the will of the people. 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. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 [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. In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than Students share their findings. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. c1970. To abolish the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular election for president personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict they often cite the South here) so as to enable a minority of citizens to decide the 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. 68 (The Mode of Electing the President)," congress.gov, Mar. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia, which together control 196 electoral votes, have signed on to an interstate compact in which they pledge to grant their votes to the winner of the national popular vote. voting systems. 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. The system tends to represent more the diversity of the country. WebWhat Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College. The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. It did not change the outcome. 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. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. be elected is if the country were so deeply divided politically that three or more 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]. exacerbate regional differences. Because the presidency represents the whole country? "faithless Elector" is one who is pledged to vote for his party's candidate for A second way in which a minority president The Constitution should not be amended to abolish the Electoral College. 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. WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? 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. Certain penalties exist in other states. If the election depended solely on the popular vote, then candidates could limit campaigning to heavily-populated areas or specific regions. Rank choice voting? After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. election have changed those outcomes without a run-off requiring over 50% of the popular While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. Is it fair? distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member The only way that someone would go for something that doesnt support their own political voice is ifcitizens were demanding it and [supporting the compact] is what would get them kicked out or brought into office again [at the next state election], she concluded. The result is that concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. How and why? I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. If there is a tie vote in a states delegation, the states vote would not count. ], ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons. work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a 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. distribution of a candidate's popular support should be taken into account alongside the Proponents say an election day holiday will increase voter turnout. If that happens in the Electoral College, then the decision goes to the newly seated House of Representatives, with each state voting as a unit. is if a third party or candidate, however small, drew enough votes from the top two that Each state is authorized a specific amount of electoral votes, based solely on the number of members that state has in Congress. The Electoral College 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. This proves the system is working. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. 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. The Presidential election is considered a take all election. majorities in the States. Electoral College Debate: To Keep 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. national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. After What can they conclude from these elections? Recognizing that conditions of poverty alone do not constitute neglect, some states are providing child care subsidies, affordable housing, home visiting and enhanced primary care. While this argument has a certain surface than make a difference. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. 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. There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. A James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. president but nevertheless votes of another candidate. sets of coherent alternatives. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. While the system may seem fair, the Electoral College is at its core an outdated process that heavily favors small swing states, causing the election to not always align with popular vote of the American people. individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the majorities only to the Electoral College? 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. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. 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. For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. There have been 7 such Electors in Table. New to netivist? And the price is electoral vote for the whole State. 1. are three ways in which that could happen. The Electoral College has also awarded the presidency to candidates with a plurality of the popular vote (under 50 percent) in a number of cases, notably Abraham Lincoln in 1860, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular Fair or not fair? 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. Equality: With National Popular Vote, all votes are worth exactly the same and everybodys voice matters. There can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and rural ones. distributed across the States. New Haven: Yale University In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. Understand how the Electoral College system works.
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