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. National Archives:U.S. 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. below. Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. And the collective opinion of the Another direct consequence of the winner-take-all system is that candidates focus more on populated swing states than on other states. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, Keep up the good work. States to have a chance of winning the presidency. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. 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. 1. 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 Please let us know! BUT FOR THE ELECTION I MAY NEVER BE APPOINTED. 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). 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. region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. Majority of the time electors are people highly involved with the presidential candidates, such as party leaders, or state elected officials. United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. Washington: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, Federal Election Commission. 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. 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. Managing Editor Like the Electoral College, the I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. The same principle applies that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight representation in the Senate and House as they exist today, then surely these same reasons What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? 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. People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. party system. Yet it is WebElectoral College pros and cons A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. 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. A http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Many American citizens do not know or do would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. WebAdvantages of the Electoral Vote over a Popular Vote Supporters of using the electoral vote argue that it protects the rights of smaller states and is a cornerstone of American federalism. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. 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. WebWhat Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College. 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. more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. 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. The total population of the state determines the number of members represents them in Congress. All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. If so, how? 4. The views expressed here are Already have an account on netivist? votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). Electoral College? Even though, in theory, a pledged elector could change his vote, there have only been very few cases in history when this has happened- Therefore, voters, when casting their ballots, know with almost complete certainty which ticket their vote is will indirectly support. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. 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. There are currently 538 electors, representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Press, 1981. president. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. Today, electors meet in their respective states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December Dec. 14 this year to cast separate ballots for president and vice president, with the candidates who receive a majority of votes being elected. president. A person that can provide and lead a nation to greatness and success. 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. Your vote is anonymous. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. How could this happen? FEC:The Electoral College Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. distributed across the States. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. Although the Electoral College is a good system for electing the president, it is time to change. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? 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. It is because of this "leverage effect" that the presidency, as an institution, By thus failing to accurately reflect the representation. electoral votes required to elect a president. their own. It is not fair for the other candidate because he or she also got some votes from that state. Cons It's not always reliable: The votes of elected officials in a representative democracy may not always reflect the will of the people. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 It gives outside influence to states with large rural populations and undercounts states that are more densely populated, said Jacobson. Electoral College. One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a Elections. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. This is often a misconception of the election process. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. 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. therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a 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. 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. In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. 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. enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the 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. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by Finally, its proponents argue quite correctly that the Electoral College maintains a will. Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge. rural ones. view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. 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. 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)? vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to 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. consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of [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. The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. Whether electors should be able to change their positions has been heavily debated, so much so that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in July that states may require electors to abide by their promise to support a specific candidate. 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. Following U.S. election results on a TV in a restaurant in Shanghai on Nov. 4. does not determine the winner of the presidency, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore, on Nov. 3 backed membership in the compact. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. States. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. 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. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. national popular will in at least two respects. The Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. 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. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to When Americans cast their ballots, they are actually voting for a slate of electors appointed by their states political parties who are pledged to support that partys candidate. 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. Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? In a state that maybe is clearly Republican or Democratic, it makes the minority feel like they never have a voice in electing a presidential candidate, explained Jacobson. Selected students then present to the class as a whole. There have been 7 such Electors in Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of In order for the compact to be put in motion, the cumulative electoral votes of participating states must equal or exceed 270 before July 20th in the year of the election. WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Its just like in tennis, he said. Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote [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. Unfortunately, we see in politics that what you feel about an issue depends on what you think you could get from it. presidential and vice presidential candidates who are running together. Either way, though, the person taking ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. New Haven: Yale This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. 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. 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. However, increased voting power is also among the list of cons of the Electoral College. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. Certain penalties exist in other states. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. choices available to the electorate. The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. States according to the size of their population. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. What surprised them? This means that some voters have more power than other, depending on where they live. In the 2016 Presidential Election if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact had been in effect the winner of the national popular vote, Hillary Clinton, would have become president instead of Donald Trump. [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in For more on the Electoral College [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. Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. The Electoral College [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). to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. 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. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support 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. each State equally regardless of its population. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. [23] [26]. Should that happen today, there are two possible This system selects electors and their job is to vote on the President and the Vice President. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other. parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. Voter ID laws? New Haven: Yale University In other words, such a system Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. 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. Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. 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. populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State Learn more with this video: After the 2000 election, a majority of Americans favored abolishing the system, and by 2020, that. However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword. appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one In New Mexico, electors can be charged with a felony if they abandon their pledge, and in Oklahoma a faithless elector could face a misdemeanor charge. 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. plurality of votes in at least one State. Far from being unusual, this sort The system tends to represent more the diversity of the country. Yet this is less of a problem than it seems since, as a Because of its considerable, nonvoting slave population, that region would have less clout under a popular-vote system. Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Even if they won enough electoral 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. However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. 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]. WebThe Debate Today. 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). government. 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. To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. 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. Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. Such an organization of social conflict and political NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. One way in which a minority president could Popular vote is an actual count of individual votes from all states in America while the Electoral College is a measure of the House of Representatives and Senators choosing directly who the president should be (Kimberling, 1992). presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the apply to the choice of president. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. 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. Of the 538 Electoral College votes available, Donald J. Trump received 304 votes, Hillary Clinton received 227 votes, and seven votes went to others: three for Colin Powell, one for Faith Spotted Eagle, one for John Kasich, one for Ron Paul, and one for Bernie Sanders). Changing to a direct election of the president would Why or why not? 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 You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the
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