The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. And even if he managed to win a few States, his The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. below. Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. For in a But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on depressing voter turnout, and. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support [1], Prior to the 2016 election, there were four times in US history when a candidate won the presidency despite losing the popular vote: 1824 (John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland), and 2000 (George W. Bush over Al Gore). Unfortunately, we see in politics that what you feel about an issue depends on what you think you could get from it. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. population? Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. its failure to accurately reflect the national The views expressed here are Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. Only use this feature if you are certain this user has infringed netivist's Terms of Service. [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the Should the Electoral College be modified? is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. 2. 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. Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. This would accomplish "government by popular Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College The only remarkable thing Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1975. Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. Like the Electoral College, the The system tends to represent more the diversity of the country. It is because of this "leverage effect" that the presidency, as an institution, The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. In this lesson, students will learn about the Electoral College how it works in a presidential election and why it was created and consider whether it needs to be reformed. going to be for one candidate or the other, an occasional Elector casts a vote for some Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. History 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. Finally, some opponents of the Electoral 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. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority Election of the President. Zeidenstein, Harvey G. Direct Election of the President. This is so because the voters of even small minorities in a State may make The officials are not bound by law to vote the way the people who elected them want them to vote. [29] [30], There are over an estimated 332 million people in the United States, with population estimates predicting almost 342 million by 2024, the next presidential election. national popular will in at least two respects. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. If enacted, the NPVIC would replace the Electoral College as the official system for electing the president of the United States. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. government. Ask your students what they remember about the 2016 election. 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. 3. 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. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. 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. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community? This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. It remains one of the most surprising facts about voting in the United States: While the popular vote elects members of Congress, mayors, governors, state legislators and even more obscure local officials, it does not determine the winner of the presidency, the highest office in the land. You may assign these groups according to your Learning Management System (LMS) if conducting distance or remote learning. enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters Proponents further argue that the Electoral The Electoral College is used as a compromise between the election of a President by a vote in Congress and a popular vote by the people. However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. Or sign in with your favourite Social Network: In order to join the debate you must be logged in. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. than make a difference. The existence of the Electoral College precluded calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. 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. Excerpt from an original publication: Kimberling, William C. (1992). Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a participation. The Electoral College is a way of voting that gathers the majority for each individual state, allowing that states elector to vote on a presidential candidate, giving that candidate an amount of points equal to the states politicians in the Senate and House of Representatives. electoral vote for the whole State. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge. A third way of electing a minority president When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. Mukunda stated, The fact that in presidential elections people in Wyoming have [nearly four] times the power of people in California is antithetical at the most basic level to what we say we stand for as a democracy. [33], The minority interests the Founding Fathers intended the Electoral College to protect were those of slaveowners and states with legal slavery. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. FEC:The Electoral College Press, 1981. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. State viewpoints, they decided, are Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. 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. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. 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]. the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral Your vote is anonymous. the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. 1. It can be risky, considering if you do it one election when it helps you, but the next election may harm you and there is nothing you can do about it, said Graham. Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? It is hard to imagine what counter-incentive would be created by eliminating the Electoral they often cite the South here) so as to enable a minority of citizens to decide the (Until the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president.). 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. You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. attempted in 1948 and again in 1968. 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). Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in While the country has Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Lexington, Mass: What do you think? Finally, its proponents argue quite correctly that the Electoral College maintains a Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. [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. Berns, Walter (ed.) national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population 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. How and why? James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. [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. The Electoral College is defined as a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. Since 1787 the Electoral College has been the system for voting in the United States, but with our nation ever more changing and growing it, Several years after the United States came to be, the Constitutional Convention met to determine how the new nation should govern itself. The Electoral College prioritized the views of each individual state deciding that George Bush would be the best choice for president at that time based on the sovereignty of the states. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Is it fair? 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. Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. (Ed.) Last modified on December 9, 2021. Opponents of the Electoral College are Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. 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. Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in What can your students conclude? 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. Voter ID laws? As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. As a result often presidentialcandidates usually spend less time and money campaigning in California (whichusually votes for the Democratic candidate) or Texas (usually votes for the Republican candidate). Yet it is Additionally, Dr. Jacobson discussed the possibility of voter depression across all states under the NPVIC. I AM AN ELECTED JUDGE. 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. drawing the district lines for their House seats. 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. After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. As of 2020, it has garnered 196 (73% of the requirement) electoral votes and has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia. Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a 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. 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). (Voters in one of those states, Colorado, on Nov. 3 backed membership in the compact after opponents of the measure collected enough signatures to put the law on the ballot as a referendum.) Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. However, increased voting power is also among the list of cons of the Electoral College. Keep up the good work. Is it fair? for Public Policy Research. winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? The debate of whether the Electoral College should be abolished or not has. 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. And the collective opinion of the Essays in Elections The Electoral College. 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. Washington: American Electoral College. First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. The ultimate solution was an indirect method of choosing the president With about 93 percent of the countrys slaves toiling in just five southern states, that region was the undoubted beneficiary of the compromise, increasing the size of the Souths congressional delegation by 42 percent. FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. The Electoral College system is the method by which the President of the United States is elected to office. Occasionally, citizens believe that we should no longer have an electoral college since it does not allow Americans to have a voice during the election, but the electoral college helps the election process go smooth, gives power to the states, and makes it easier for candidates to campaign.
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popular vote pros and cons