Samploon is a database of free essay samples. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Many Americans are confused about how a win is obtained under these conditions and are on a quest to change this traditional statute. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. Many people may feel that any major change in how we elect the president should be in the Constitution and not in a legal loop hole even if its legal and technically constitutional. National Popular Vote proponents argue that the United States has had four presidential elections in which the plurality winner of the popular vote was not chosen as president. Although it is sometimes conjectured that a national popular election would focus only on big cities, it is clear that this would not be the case. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. It would limit the influence of local issues in the election. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Under the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system votes in small states, like Wyoming or Delaware count double what votes in large states like California or Texas. The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. Lastly, it may cause a third-party candidate to prevail and win, which would allow Americans to be given more choices besides the two primary parties (Richards). Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. Like most issues involving politics, the U.S. Constitution is largely silent on the political issues of presidential elections. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. But the national popular vote plan doesn't require a . It is not at all clear that it would similarly prosper under the direct election regime being pushed by NPV. On a close popular vote, often defined as a difference of 0.5% or less in the tabulated results, an automatic recount would likely be triggered. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. 4. A popular vote election takes all ballots that are cast, counts them, and declares the winner based on who received the most votes. 1. Richard F. Potthoff looks critically at a proposed alternative way of electing the US president, the National Popular Vote plan, where all states in an interstate compact which cover 270 or more electoral votes would cast their electoral votes for the candidate who won the nationwide vote, no matter who wins their state. N.p., n.d. (2021, Jun 14). In theory that could happen every four years. First it would be relatively easy to implement. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. Under the plan, Michigan's 15 Electoral . On April 15, 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York State quietly signed into law the National Popular Vote, making New York the 10th state -- along with the District of Columbia -- to support this effort, while also boosting the total numbers to 165 of the 270 electoral votes needed to make a true national popular vote a reality. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. Even though pre-election polls made conspicuous predictions of Hilary Clinton winning the presidency and . The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns . There would be fewer opportunities to illegally alter the results of an election. For example: States already have the power to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, although this would be disadvantageous to the state that did so unless it was joined simultaneously by other states that represent a majority of electoral votes. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. In fact, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has now been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 196 electoral votes, is an actionable and realistic . April 8, 2016 National popular vote far better than Electoral College system for choosing presidents, Stanford professors say. Here is the entire text of the proposed "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote." Tweet Email this More on The Electoral College: Honorable Steve Cohen The National Popular Vote plan does not do away with the Electoral College system, an action that would require a constitutional amendment. Rural voters would almost always be in the minority. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. Candidates get one vote for every congressional district they win, and then two votes for winning the state-wide vote. An electoral college would solve . Under the system of proportional representation, any party with a high enough percentage of the vote will receive a seat in the government. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. Similarly, because a national campaign mandates a national message, there would also be a smaller incentive for coalition-building or taking into account the characteristics, needs and desires of citizens in differing states and regions. . However, some critics argue that the advantages of a direct popular election including reflecting democratic principals, outweigh the disadvantages. The Constitution specifically leaves details like how the electoral votes are cast up to the states. Under the current structure of the electoral college, the focus of a presidential campaign is on the so-called battleground states. 1, 2023 at 1:16 PM PST. It has been enacted by twelve states, which include Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? Instead, it modifies the winner-take-all rule in a way its supporters say would assure that every vote will matter in every state in every presidential election. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. The Congressional District method would allocate electoral votes based on the winner of each congressional district. cons of the national popular vote plan. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. Electing a president who did not have broad regional support could lead to a fractured and less cohesive country, according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. The National Popular Vote plan is a bill passed by participating state legislatures agreeing that they will cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. According to the Constitution, the Electoral College is a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (National Archives). But for those people who feel that changing how we elect the president should only be done by constitutional amendment they will feel that using the NPV Compact will undermine the legitimacy of the process even though its perfectly legal and constitutional. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. 7. The NPV is a multi-state agreement that, when active, would ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote nationally also wins in the Electoral College. (See: Electoral Votes by State). It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. If the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact becomes law it would be an excellent first step to help get a future amendment to the Constitution to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect the president with a national popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. National Popular Vote (NPV) was founded in 2006 by lottery scratch-card inventor John Koza and election lawyer Barry Fadem to lobby for an "interstate compact" for states to deliver their electoral votes for President to the "winner" of the national popular vote. Retrieved from https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Should the Electoral College Be Abolished, Pros for The Electoral College in the United States, Electoral College is Undemocratic but We Have no Better System, The Electoral College Should Be Terminated, The Electoral College Annotated Bibliography. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. That effectively means that votes in the the 75% of the country that are in swing states effectively dont count at all. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. The framers enacted the provisions relating to the Electoral College to allow for state innovation. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it . By continuing well assume youre on board with our, https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Select a writer from a large pool of experts. The popular vote currently gives every citizenCalifornians and Texans, Hawaiians and Mainers, Alabamans and Oregoniansan equal say in choosing the president. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. In the 2020 election California did not certify their votes until Friday, December 11, only 3 days before the Electoral College met on Monday, December, 14. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. In 2004, for example, candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry campaigned heavily in states such as Nevada while ignoring political issues in New York, a state that Kerry was sure to win, according to the University of the Pacific. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. Longley, Robert. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. All samples were added by students. 2. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. Watch out! Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. And finally, the Electoral College doesnt work today anywhere near how the Founding Fathers intended it to work when they created it back in 1787. In contrast, other issues related to the federal government are not exclusively entrusted to the states, and therefore the states lack the power to alter them. The National Popular Vote Bill is a bill for Americans interested in both preserving our Electoral College and reforming the shortcomings of our current "winner-take-all" system that awards all the electors of one state to the candidate who wins in that particular state and . The National Popular Vote bill will take effect when enacted into law by states possessing 270 electoral votes a majority of the current 538 electoral votes. Common Cause The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. Although many supporters of the electoral college argue that a two-party political system is more stable, some critics counter that having more than two parties would give Americans more choice. tobin james the blend 2017 ; real estate marketing solutions; cons of the national popular vote plan; lassi kefalonia shops cons of the national popular vote plan cons of the national popular vote plan. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. [Add switching votes of losing party to the other partys voter totals in every state using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system (except for 5 EC votes in Maine and Nebraska that are awarded proportionally instead of by Winner-Take-All.]. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. The NPVIC is an agreement among states designed to guarantee election of the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. NPV is grounded in two powers delegated to states by the Constitution: the power to design rules for awarding their electoral votes and the power to enter into interstate All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. Cons of Electoral College. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. 2. Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: The Electoral College, University of the Pacific: Electoral College Reform, University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School: The Electoral College. The first problem it creates is the opportunity for the loser of the popular vote to win the electoral vote. Hence, the National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact a type of state law authorized by the U.S. Constitution that enables states to enter into a legally enforceable, contractual obligation to undertake agreed joint actions, which may be delayed in implementation until a requisite number of states join in. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. 1. However that presumably rare exception happened in the 2000 election when Florida could not complete their statewide recount in time for the Electoral College deadline and the Supreme Court forced Florida to use their first vote count without a statewide recount. But if some non-member Privacy Policy. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. Because of the state Winner-Take-All rules, which arent even part of the Constitution, they can lead to presidential elections where the winner of the election doesnt have the most popular votes. The NPVC is a proposed interstate compact in which the signatory states agree that they will appoint their presidential electors in accordance with the national popular vote rather than their own state electorate's vote. But in practice it could happen every 10 or 20 years when the Electoral College votes change because the congressional boundaries change with the new population census. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. Or the opposite could be true. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. How about receiving a customized one? The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. 2. To pass an amendment to change the Constitution the Founding Fathers wisely required approval by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures instead of a simple majority. District Plan CONS Technically still possible, but A LOT hard to do so District 1 = Romney 57% District 2 = Romney 52% District 3 = Romney 70% Gerrymandering. The National Popular Vote plan is a bill passed by participating state legislatures agreeing that they will cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote. According to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, some proponents of the Electoral College argue that it isolates election problems, such as illegally extended voting hours or irregularly high voter turnout. The senators in the U.S. Senate make up two votes in addition to the votes that represent the number of its members in the U.S. House of Representatives (Archives). In addition, the bill has been unanimously approved at the committee level in the states of Georgia and Missouri, controlling a combined 27 electoral votes. Yes. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Longley, Robert. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. And in all states but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in that state is awarded all of its electoral votes, whether the split is 51% to 49% or 99% to 1%. It sees a healthy and vibrant democracy needing the underpinnings of civil society that rests on the sustained and active engagement of the citizenry and promotes approaches that seek to maximize that involvement. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. 622 By John Samples The National Popular Vote plan (NPV), introduced in more than 40 states, and adopted. Proportional Plan Because its so hard to get an amendment to the Constitution passed that means that once it becomes law it will probably remain so for a long time because the bar to change it back is so high. Then, election officials in all participating states would choose the electors sworn to support thepresidential candidate who received the largest number of popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. Pros & Cons of a National Popular Vote Buy Complete Issue $19.95 Login or Subscribe The National Popular Vote How would the interstate compact work? Currently, candidates focus more on swing and battleground states to help them gain those electoral votes. Candidates feel these states need a little bit more of their attention and apply pressure to supply these states with solutions to their problems in order to gain their vote. Once enacted, the participating states would cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote, thus ensuring that candidate the required 270 electoral votes. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. 3. Many cities and school districts, under threat of a lawsuit by a Malibu attorney, have already adopted or are in the process of changing to district elections rather than remaining citywide or . But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . In countries where the concept of popular votes is in place, every vote has an equal weight regarding the election outcome. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. The method works by electing one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and selecting the remaining two electors by a statewide popular vote. Only Nebraska and Maine do not. Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clintons 227 electoral votes. The amendment requires that any change to the rate of compensation for members of Congress can only take effect after a subsequent election in the House of Representatives. The National Bonus Plan maintains the Electoral College voting system but adds 102 bonus electoral votes to the existing 538 votes. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. 6. At the moment, 98 more electoral votes are needed to pass this bill in all 50 states (National Conference of State Legislators). The time to stop its momentum is now. If the National Popular Vote bill was secured within the American government, it would protect every vote and would allow those votes to equally matter in the presidential election. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. 3. A faithless elector in the United States is someone who casts an electoral ballot for someone other than the individuals to whom they are pledged. A candidate may not have to concentrate anymore, but they may have to move their attention to states such as Texas, New York, California, and Alaska. But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. We have seen this outcome in the 2016 Presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and in the 2000 election between George H.W. After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. As with other powers entrusted to the states, it is an application, not a circumvention, of the Constitution when the states utilize those powers as they see fit. Each states electoral votes are tallied by Congress in the House chamber by House and Senate representatives on the 6th day of January following the Presidential election. As of December 2020, the bill has been fully adopted predominately by Democratic-majority blue states which delivered the 14 largest vote shares for Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. Weve already seen this issue take place with the GOP primaries in 2016. Under the electoral college system, the candidates which receive the most votes in each state (or district) receive its assigned electoral votes. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. If the election is based off a popular vote, each of these areas would need to be closely examined in real-time, which would enhance the security of each vote that is cast. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. However, this also means that regions with a quite low population density will almost have no influence on the election outcome at all since they only have far too few votes to make a real difference. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. Electoral votes are designated among the states based on Census. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). Feb 25, 2023. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. More people live in urban regions, which means they would have a constant sway over the election. Since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights became governing documents in the United States, there have only been 17 amendments made to it. ashburnham school committee; its his baby now political cartoon meaning; softstar primal sawyer List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. As of December 2020, the National Popular Vote bill has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, controlling 196 electoral votes: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, and WA. In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. 9. However, Hilary Clinton won 2.6 million more popular votes nationwide than Donald Trump. The candidate who placed second in the popular vote was elected in 2016, 2000, 1888, 1876, and 1824. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Here are the essential pros and cons of popular vote elections to examine. Imperfect, because its modern-day blessings -- enhancing coalition building, pluralism, federalism and grass-roots participation -- are enjoyed only by a minority of states (in any given presidential election 18 or 20), where the battle for electoral votes is competitive for both major parties. Hence, the National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact a type of state law authorized by the U.S. Constitution that enables states to enter into a legally enforceable, contractual obligation to undertake agreed joint actions, which may be delayed in implementation until a requisite number of states join in.
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