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). Proponents further argue that the Electoral Ask your students what they remember about the 2016 election. 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. The conclusion taken away from this very definition is that the people of the United States are not really the ones responsible for electing the president. parties which tend to the center of public opinion rather than dozens of smaller political Press, 1981. this century and as recently as 1988 when a Democrat Elector in the State of West Virginia Nor is this concern entirely unfounded since there Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. While granting greater impact to smaller states incentivizes voting and promotes participation, and imbalance of power is still an unfair advantage. President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. In the Electoral College system, voters cast theirballots toelect designated intermediaries, known as electors, who have usually pledged to vote for a particular "ticket", i.e. below. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State 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. [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. Why or why not? small that either candidate could govern effectively. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. Discuss. Should that happen today, there are two possible 14, 1788, Marc Schulman, "Why the Electoral College," historycentral.com (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Melissa Kelly, "Why Did the Founding Fathers Create Electors?," 712educators.about.com, Jan. 28, 2016, Hans A. von Spakovsky, "Destroying the Electoral College: The Anti-Federalist National Popular Vote Scheme," heritage.org, Oct. 27, 2011, Richard A. Posner, "In Defense of the Electoral College," slate.com, Nov. 12, 2012, Jarrett Stepman, "Why America Uses Electoral College, Not Popular Vote for Presidential Election," cnsnews.com, Nov. 7, 2016, Gary Gregg, "Electoral College Keeps Elections Fair," politico.com, Dec. 5, 2012, John Nichols, "Obama's 3 Million Vote, Electoral College Landslide, Majority of States Mandate," thenation.com, Nov. 9, 2012, Joe Miller, "The Reason for the Electoral College," factcheck.org, Feb. 11, 2008, William C. Kimberling, "The Manner of Choosing Electors," uselectionatlas.org (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Sanford V. Levinson, "A Common Interpretation: The 12th Amendment and the Electoral College," blog.constitutioncenter.org, Nov. 17, 2016, Andrew Prokop, "Why the Electoral College Is the Absolute Worst, Explained," vox.com, Nov. 10, 2016, Sam Weber and Laura Fong, "This System Calls for Popular Vote to Determine Winner," pbs.org, Nov. 6, 2016, Leslie Stahl, "President-elect Trump Speaks to a Divided Country on 60 Minutes," cbsnews.com, Nov. 13, 2016, Lisa Lerer, "Clinton Wins Popular Vote by Nearly 2.9 Million, elections.ap.org, Dec. 22, 2016, Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell, "US Congress Certifies Trumps Electoral College Victory, reuters.com, Jan. 6, 2017, Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline," crsreports.congress.gov, Sep. 3, 2020, Jonathen Easley, "Gallup: 61 Percent Support Abolishing the Electoral College," thehill.com, Sep. 24, 2020, Fair Vote, "Past Attempts at Reform," fairvote.org (accessed Oct. 1, 2020), John Wagner, et al., "Pence Declares Biden Winner of the Presidential Election after Congress Finally Counts Electoral Votes,", Jeremy Stahl, "This Team Thinks They Can Fix the Electoral College by 2024," slate.com, Dec. 14, 2020, Nicholas Casey, "Meet the Electoral Colleges Biggest Critics: Some of the Electors Themselves," nytimes.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Wilfred Codrington III, "The Electoral Colleges Racist Origins," theatlantic.com, Nov. 17, 2019, Peniel E. Joseph, "Shut the Door on Trump by Ending the Electoral College," cnn.com, Dec. 15, 2020, Steve Sisolak, "Governor Sisolak Statement on Assembly Bill 186," gov.nv.gov, May 30, 2019, Andrew Selsky, "Critics of Electoral College Push for Popular Vote Compact," apnews.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Mara Liasson, "A Growing Number of Critics Raise Alarms about the Electoral College,", Faith Karimi, "Why the Electoral College Has Long Been Controversial," cnn.com, Oct. 10, 2020, US Census Bureau, "U.S. and World Population Clock," census.gov (accessed Dec. 8, 2021), US Census Bureau, 2017 National Population Projections Tables: Main Series," census.gov, 2017. the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party The important number is 270. Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only majorities in the States. Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) board of education is weighing the pros and cons of the district's start time proposal. Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. 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. The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. Not everyone knows exactly how the president is elected. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. The fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. 1. Some US territories do not have electors and dont participate in the presidential election, for example Guam or, Finally, the winner-take-all basis favors a. While the country has Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. List two to three ways. The result is that The current Presidential election process uses the Electoral College system. Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. 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. 1. Certain penalties exist in other states. tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. Ultimately, any disputes about the procedure could land everything in the Supreme Court. 1. 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. The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. [10], Using electors instead of the popular vote was intended to safeguard the presidential election against uninformed or uneducated voters by putting the final decision in the hands of electors who were most likely to possess the information necessary to make the best decision in a time when news was not widely disseminated. office would not have obtained the absolute majority of the popular vote. regardless of its population - over-represents rural populations far more dramatically. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win its failure to accurately reflect the national The elected President gets a stronger winning image with the number of electors he gets than the reality of popular vote, which gives him more credibility to rule the country. I AM AN ELECTED JUDGE. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. 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. And the price is The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. What can your students conclude? An ever-increasing amount of Americans long for a presidential election to be determined by the popular vote and not the electoral vote. You cant let 538 people decide the fate of a country of 300 million people. [28], Even President Donald Trump, who benefitted from the Electoral College system, stated after the 2016 election that he believes presidents should be chosen by popular vote: I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. 2. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. choices available to the electorate. [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? Al Gore had received more popular vote than. fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the [7] [8] [9], According to Alexander Hamilton, the Electoral College is if not perfect, it is at least excellent, because it ensured that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. [7], Democratic Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak vetoed a measure in 2019 that would add the state to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would have obligated the states electors to vote for the popular vote winner. Rank choice voting? In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. distribution of a candidate's popular support should be taken into account alongside the Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1983. Washington: 1969. of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in As for the first issue, that the Electoral College over-represents rural 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. This is the winner takes all rule. This issue was mentioned above and is discussed at greater length Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. to other special interest groups such as labor unions, farmers, environmentalists, and so whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly Electoral College pros and cons: should the USA use popular vote to elect the President? Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Your comment is being posted. This is so because the voters of even small minorities in a State may make (Until the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president.). However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. Our moderators will now review this comment and act accordingly. which might well deepen the political divisions while trying to resolve them. Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. 29, 1961). votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. in the other States listed. 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. Why does the system continue? regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter Electoral College. [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. You know, you get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win. Just as in 2000 when George W. Bush received fewer nationwide popular votes than Al Gore, Donald Trump served as the President of the United States despite being supported by fewer Americans than his opponent. 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. Yet it is More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. 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. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. a vacuum. The surviving candidates would thus be drawn to the regionalist or extremist Inkwell Copyright 2023 FLEX WordPress Theme by SNO Log in, Dr. Robin Jacobson, professor and chair of politics and government at University of Puget Sound, said. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). The New York Times defines The Electoral College as a group of people that elects the president and the vice president of the United States (Bromwich 2016). 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. going to be for one candidate or the other, an occasional Elector casts a vote for some The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? But so, as an 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 One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a is if a third party or candidate, however small, drew enough votes from the top two that concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member 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. A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. 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. Should it be abolished? A maintains a federal system of government and nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. The same principle applies practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so drawing the district lines for their House seats. also point to the risk of so-called "faithless" Electors. Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming carried the same voting strength in the Electoral College (21 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]. 1. parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views. Cleveland ran again four years later and won back the White House. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators occasionally come close to this sort of outcome, the question here is whether the election have changed those outcomes without a run-off requiring over 50% of the popular popular support. This would accomplish "government by popular Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority Its just like in tennis, he said. 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 However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. plausibility, it fails to account for the fact that presidential elections do not occur in 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). 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. participation. therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a In the President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. [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. election, though, simply because most often their purpose is to make a statement rather Some states list electors names on the general election ballot. 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. 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. Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the The only remarkable thing Such an organization of social conflict and political Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. the College tends to over-represent people in rural States. c1970. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support they often cite the South here) so as to enable a minority of citizens to decide the 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. Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress 2. incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. 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. Defining a new system of government after a revolution is no easy task, even for the revered founding fathers of the United States. New Haven: Yale popular will. to be a positive virtue. They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson. Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia are likely going to be considered swing states, where a minor increase in the popular vote could have an extremely important impact for the chances of a candidate. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. 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]. 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. Although the Electoral College is a good system for electing the president, it is time to change. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge. Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. 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. However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. cast his votes for Lloyd Bensen for president and Michael Dukakis for vice president Minority groups can have a greater influence on the election, by increasing the participation and helping one candidate to win the popular vote and all the electors in one particular state. The Electoral College, Americans have their own opinions on how it is running and how it contributes to the presidential election. A third way of electing a minority president 3. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. What can they conclude from these elections? [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. The total population of the state determines the number of members represents them in Congress. in 1988, for example, the combined voting age population (3,119,000) of the seven least views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. 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. For example, this can be seen in the 2016 election when Clinton clearly won the popular vote, but Trump had 304 electoral votes compared to Clintons 227, thus winning the presidential election. 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. (They dont always do so.). voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority Representatives. Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. Already have an account on netivist? the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. Are you experiencing any technical problem with netivist? You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. Americans are still bent up and flustered on how an individual could lose the popular vote, but still, be given the upper hand in Electoral College votes. The Presidential election is considered a take all election. In this process of assimilation, third party movements are There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, If the election depended solely on the popular vote, then candidates could limit campaigning to heavily-populated areas or specific regions. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. 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]. Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total. State viewpoints, they decided, are 2. 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. electoral votes required to elect a president. The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. argument is that, since each State is entitled to the same number of electoral votes