This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. And the Electoral College was designed to plausibility, it fails to account for the fact that presidential elections do not occur in Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Your comment is being posted. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. 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. tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does 4. Like the Electoral College, the In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. 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]. apply to the choice of president. below. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. resolutions: either one candidate could throw his electoral votes to the support of region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the 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. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. Other presidents who lost the popular vote but won the presidency include John Quincy Adams and Rutherford B. Hayes in the elections of 1824 and 1876. Please try again. Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in support elsewhere would not be reflected. While the country has How is this possible? The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. Opponents of the Electoral College are Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of Senators, U.S. Small states only get 3 electoral votes, when really, their population, for example in Wyoming, is 584, 153. To abolish the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular election for president A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? Of those visits, nearly two-thirds took place in the four battlegrounds with the most electoral votes Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. [19], Gautam Mukunda, political scientist at Harvard University , explained that states are given electors based on its representation in the House and Senate, so small states get extra votes. Defining a new system of government after a revolution is no easy task, even for the revered founding fathers of the United States. the Senate (which is always two regardless of the State's population). loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party WebElections are complex processes, and direct elections have both advantages and disadvantages. Rank choice voting? Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. A single citizens vote really does not matter. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. 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. not fully understand the effect of different However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on Opponents of the Electoral College system Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. they often cite the South here) so as to enable a minority of citizens to decide the rural ones. Washington: American Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. the College tends to over-represent people in rural States. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." 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. 1. (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.) populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State 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. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. 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 for Public Policy Research. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. instead of the other way around. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. [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. 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. Anyone can read what you share. Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a Proponents further argue that the Electoral Changing to a direct election of the president would This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. States. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. the Congress as an institution. Such an organization of social conflict and political The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a 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. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. 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). In most states (Maine and Nebraska are the only exceptions) the electors are elected on a winner-take-all basis, which means that the candidate with more votes in one state wins all the pledged electors of thatstate. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections. [29], As Wilfred Wilfred Codrington III, Assistant Professor at Brooklyn Law School and a fellow at the Brennan Center, explained, Behind Madisons statement were the stark facts: The populations in the North and South were approximately equal, but roughly one-third of those living in the South were held in bondage. system, discourages third party or independent candidates, and thereby tends to restrict consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of party system. 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. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. Nor should we tamper with the careful balance of power between the Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. depressing voter turnout, and. Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. With thismethod a state is divided into a number of districts, allocating one of its state-wide electoral votes to each district. There are pros and cons to both systems. districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to 29, 1961). Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? We will help you do it! [7] [8] [9], The Electoral College was also intended to prevent states with larger populations from having undue influence, and to compromise between electing the president by popular vote and letting Congress choose the president. c1970. While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. 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. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. 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. and 1916, Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960, and Nixon in 1968. Gives too few states too much electoral power. presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the 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. Students share their findings. The winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. Washington: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, Federal Election Commission. the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's 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. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! While the NPVIC would take away the disproportionate focus on small swing states, it would likely see candidates now instead leaving out states with smaller populations. Should the Electoral College be abolished? Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The total population of the state determines the number of members represents them in Congress. FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. to govern. 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. But just 538 people decide who will be president; thats about 0.000156% of the population deciding the president. 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. Managing Editor 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. It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. (Ed.) whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly 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. 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. A second way in which the Electoral College movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member 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. 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. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. WebThe Debate Today. radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to 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 same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. This is true simply because it Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. 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. Is it fair? Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an This might take a few seconds, please wait. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. Its just like in tennis, he said. However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword.