Watch out! A switch to the popular vote would eliminate the concept of a battleground state because the issue would be more on issues than states. Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. NAPA Net Staff. However, many people believe that a direct popular election is more democratic and fair than the Electoral College. 3. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. Explain to your students that while in November Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College. Reduces voter participation by creating a my vote doesnt matter feeling. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. 6. 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. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. If you need 321 electoral votes to win, and you can get 102 by winning the national 354 popular plurality, you need only 219 of the state electoral votes. Today, opinions on the future of the Electoral College range from protecting it as the basis of American democracy to abolishing it completely as an ineffective and obsolete system that may not accurately reflect the will of the people. This text is available online and is used for gudiance and inspiration, We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. There are currently 538 electors, and to be elected, a candidate must get the votes of at least 270 electors. The National Association of Plan Advisors is a non-profit professional society. NCSL Child Welfare Fellows program is designed to support legislators and legislative staff who are experienced or emerging leaders in child welfare policy. Second, some believe itll intensify election problems, such as illegally extended voting hours or irregularly high voter turnout (Richards). And thats not how it should be in a democracy. (LogOut/ Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. Gives too few states too much electoral power. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. While it has provided a stable and predictable framework for presidential elections, it has also produced several controversial outcomes. Under the current structure of the electoral college, the focus of a presidential campaign is on the so-called battleground states. 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. At that stage, anyone who received an electoral vote is eligible to become the next president. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. 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. Idea to keep electoral college but add 102bvotes. It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. Their vote only counts at the local level, not the national level, because of the electoral votes. Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. Elections Webinar 1 2 3 . Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. Security would be improved across the country. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. This outdated institution creates unnecessary . 4. Even though we will be able to elect the president by national popular vote using the The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, eventually the rules for how we elect the president should be an official part of the Constitution. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. President Trump had earned 232 electoral . A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. But . For example, if a state used NPV and voted for candidate A, but candidate B received the most votes nationwide, the state would allocate its presidential electors to candidate B. Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons 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. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). 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. 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. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2023 NewsHour Production LLC. The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. 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). Under the electoral college, the majority votes of states assign electoral votes to a candidate, which then creates a majority total required for a victory. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). Electoral College Pros and Cons. 1. Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clintons 227 electoral votes. 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. 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. Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. 4 terms. on WordPress.com. But for those people who feel that changing how we elect the president should only be done by constitutional amendment they will feel that using the NPV Compact will undermine the legitimacy of the process even though its perfectly legal and constitutional. The 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 CU Boulder political scientist Ken Bickers. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Students share their findings. The National Popular Vote would go into effect when states controlling 270a simple majorityof the total 538 electoral votes. cons of the national popular vote plan - ssmthope.org Cons of Electoral College. Although many supporters of the electoral college argue that a two-party political system is more stable, some critics counter that having more than two parties would give Americans more choice. How about receiving a customized one? National Popular Vote Fix the Broken Electoral College. Should the Electoral College stay or go? - PBS NewsHour Classroom 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. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. What Happens if There Is a Tie in the Electoral College? In 2004, for example, candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry campaigned heavily in states such as Nevada while ignoring political issues in New York, a state that Kerry was sure to win, according to the University of the Pacific. The allotment of the extra votes would almost always ensure that the person who wins the popular vote would also win the Electoral College. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Join the thousands across the country who instantly rally when there is a threat to our democracy. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. Start and finish your paper with ease. cons of the national popular vote plan By April 20, 2023 April 20, 2023 power bi if statement with multiple conditions on cons of the national popular vote plan There are various options for reforming the Electoral College system, including abolishing it altogether, adopting a national popular vote system, and proportional allocation This unique system of electing presidents is a big reason why Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. cons of the national popular vote plan - lyonbureau.fr 5. Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. Maryland and New Jersey passed this bill in 2007, Hawaii and Illinois in 2008, Washington in 2009, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia in 2010, California and Vermont in 2011, Rhode Island in 2013, New York in 2014 and Connecticut in 2018. Why National Popular Vote Is a Bad Idea | HuffPost Latest News There was a lot of confusion over how Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. However, there are proposals to reform the Electoral College without abolishing it. Would you like to get a custom essay? Some states list electors names on the general election ballot. Yes, and that is what happened in 2016: Although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by almost three million votes, Donald Trump garnered almost 57 percent of the electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. Some states, such as California and Hawaii, both had their bills vetoed by their governors before it was overridden and enacted by state legislators. 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. Consequently, they decided that using the proxy votes of the well-informed electors would lessen the risk of tyranny of the majority, in which the voices of the minority are drowned out by those of the masses. Certain penalties exist in other states. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset 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. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. The obvious reason to keep raising the debt ceiling is that it avoids defaulting on the nation's debts. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. Based on Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution granting the states the exclusive power to control how their electoral votes are awarded, the National Popular Vote plan requires the legislature of each participating state to enact a bill agreeing that the state will award all of its electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, regardless of the outcome of the popular vote in that specific state. The Early Learning Fellows Program is a year long opportunity to legislators and legislative staff particularly interested in the topic of early care and education. First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, Hear from two columnists with different political ideologies discuss the week in politics, Hear New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics. To avoid another election that differs from . 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. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. America is known to have the costliest, prolonged, and complicated structure when electing a head of state. Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge. The country thinks we are going to elect the president using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system tans and then four months before the election we change to the National Popular Vote Compact system and elect the president by whoever gets the most popular votes. Disadvantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. Learn more about how the National Popular Vote compact works and the ways it could make our elections better for everyone. Retrieved from https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Should the Electoral College Be Abolished, Pros for The Electoral College in the United States, Electoral College is Undemocratic but We Have no Better System, The Electoral College Should Be Terminated, The Electoral College Annotated Bibliography. To pass an amendment to change the Constitution the Founding Fathers wisely required approval by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures instead of a simple majority. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. 6. The only election in the United States which is not governed by the popular vote is the presidential election. 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. Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. 5. The proportional plan retains electoral votes, but awards the votes in each state based on the percentage of votes received in each state (regardless of the districts from which the voters come) by the competing . For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. It was a compromise between those who wanted direct popular elections for president and those who preferred to have Congress decide. The system had some unusual results from the start, as evident in the election of 1800, a tie in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received an equal number of electoral votes. The National Popular Vote (NPV) refers to the concept of allocating a state's presidential electors to the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide regardless of the state results in a presidential election. In this issue of Capitol to Capitol NCSL Letter to Congress on Farm Bill Reauthorization and Town Hall, House Republicans Unveil Border Security Bill, and more. Instead of a direct popular election, the United States has the Electoral College, a group of electors who represent each state's votes. Actually the NPV Compact doesnt change one word in he Constitution and in fact only changes state laws. Pro: It's the only way to avoid defaulting. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Only Nebraska and Maine do not. Four candidates in history have won the popular vote only to be denied the presidency by the Electoral College. The National Popular Vote stems from the winner-take-all approach that validates the presidential candidate interactions with only 4 out of 50 dates during their campaign. 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 BY . 8. The Electoral College system has been a topic of debate for many years. 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. 1. Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. That means the bill needs 74 votes to reach a 270 majority, putting it into effect across the country . The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. Under the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system votes in small states, like Wyoming or Delaware count double what votes in large states like California or Texas. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. 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). Thus, the National Popular Vote plan will take effect when enacted by states controlling an additional 74 electoral votes. 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.

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