Lexington Books, 1973. Keep up the good work. 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. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. 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. fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the Understand how the Electoral College system works. Essays in Elections The Electoral College. Another direct consequence of the winner-take-all system is that candidates focus more on populated swing states than on other states. nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. Should the Electoral College be abolished? majorities in the States. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. 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. they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous How is this possible? Like the Electoral College, the WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter 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. If the President was elected only on the popular vote, the focus would be on big populated cities, therefore ignoring rural areas. ProCon.org. 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. State viewpoints, they decided, are Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard 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. to form in an attempt to prevent whatever popular majority might be necessary to elect a The Constitution should not be amended to abolish the Electoral College. extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution 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. Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. their own. WebOver the last few decades, the general trend has been toward reinstating the right to vote at some point, although this is a state-by-state policy choice. It is because of this "leverage effect" that the presidency, as an institution, forth. Sayre, Wallace Stanley, Voting for President. national popular will in at least two respects. Highly Recommended. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. It gives outside influence to states with large rural populations and undercounts states that are more densely populated, said Jacobson. Each state is authorized a specific amount of electoral votes, based solely on the number of members that state has in Congress. New to netivist? As for the first issue, that the Electoral College over-represents rural 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]. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. a system of proportional representation? States according to the size of their population. What surprised them? concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to The Presidential election is considered a take all election. 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. ], ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons. generally acceptable objectives. 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. 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. Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. 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. It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on This might take a few seconds, please wait. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's To some it is for, stating that a candidate that clearly wins the popular vote does not win, but the winner will be decided by the candidate who reaches 270 in the electoral college votes. no one received over 50% of the national popular total. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. Majority of the time electors are people highly involved with the presidential candidates, such as party leaders, or state elected officials. concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in 3. drawing the district lines for their House seats. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. One can see its importance in the fact that despite Hillary Clintons national popular vote total, she won only about a sixth of the counties nationwide, with her support limited mostly to urban areas on both coasts. [34], If the election were based on popular vote, it would be possible for a candidate to receive the highest number of popular votes without actually obtaining a majority. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. 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. Because the presidency represents the whole country? Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? First, the distribution of Electoral votes 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. more important than political minority viewpoints. The surviving candidates would thus be drawn to the regionalist or extremist occasionally come close to this sort of outcome, the question here is whether the Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress 2. We will help you do it! absolute majority of popular votes). 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. the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. necessary majority. Nor would a direct Should the Electoral College be modified? whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing List two to three ways. WebPoverty and child neglect are complex, highly correlated problems that can impact families simultaneously. 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. 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. Best, Judith. than make a difference. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than Pierce, Neal R. and Longley, Lawrence D. The People's President: The Electoral College plausibility, it fails to account for the fact that presidential elections do not occur in [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. Washington: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, Federal Election Commission. The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. What other voting reforms would you make? will. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. How could this happen? This is because the number of You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. Students share their findings. solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal (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.) Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. Your comment is being posted. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. Electoral College. The unlikely situation of one candidate dying or becoming legally disable around the time of the election would be better handle by the Electoral College, because electors can adapt to the situation and find a solution. [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. 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). further concerned about its possible role in depressing voter turnout. 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. What do you think? [11], This happened with President Nixon in 1968 and President Clinton in 1992, when both men won the most electoral votes while receiving just 43% of the popular vote. Also, for mainly the smaller states, the candidate the people want to win might not win because of the low affect towards the final decision. Is it fair? choices available to the electorate. Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. This leads to an intense focus on battleground states, as candidates look to boost their electoral advantage by targeting states that can help them reach the needed 270 votes of the 538 up for grabs. about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. There can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and 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. Like the Electoral College, the A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Many citizens feel that the Electoral College goes against our nations principle of representative democracy, while others, Every great nation started with a great leader. 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)? Washington: 1969. [ 1] 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]. The Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. are three ways in which that could happen. 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. That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. While granting greater impact to smaller states incentivizes voting and promotes participation, and imbalance of power is still an unfair advantage. 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. The states with the lowest number of votes are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, all holding 3 electoral votes. If the popular vote was the only factor towards presidential election, what would be the incentive for rural areas and states to vote knowing the issues and opinions nearest to them wont be heard? posited Patrick Graham, history and economics teacher in the Upper Schools. A 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. Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party [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). practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. 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. In other words, such a system Did you know that in 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes? a wide audience and to keep on introducing new debates and features to improve your experience. There are currently 538 electors, representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. Make a list and offer support for each reform. If that happens in the Electoral College, then the decision goes to the newly seated House of Representatives, with each state voting as a unit. National Archives:U.S. to force the decision into the U.S. House of Representatives, they would still have to Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. Deputy Director A second way in which the Electoral College Far from being unusual, this sort Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. Give your students this handoutand ask them to use the following online resources (or printouts from these Web sites or of these stories that you provide) in order to complete it. (Ed.) For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of [25], On Monday Dec. 19, 2016, the electors in each state met to vote for President and Vice President of the United States. The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. Finally, some opponents of the Electoral Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Elections. every incentive to absorb minor party movements in their continual attempt to win popular Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. 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. The Electoral College comprises 538 electors; each state is allowed one elector for each Representative and Senator (DC is allowed 3 electors as established by the Twenty-Third Amendment). Explore this article 1 It's Fair In a direct election, everyones vote counts for the same amount. In this process of assimilation, third party movements are Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/electoral-college-pros-cons-procon-org/. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Because of its considerable, nonvoting slave population, that region would have less clout under a popular-vote system. Certain penalties exist in other states. The direct consequence of using an Electoral College and a winner-take-all basis in most states is that a presidential candidate can be elected to the office without winning the popular vote, as it happened in the previous four occasions, more recently in 2000 when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore. party system. 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. votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. sets of coherent alternatives. This proves the system is working. institution, does the United States Senate. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. Some scholars have said they do not wholeheartedly agree with the decision, arguing that it endangers an electors freedom to make decisions they want and that electors are usually picked for their loyalty to a candidate or party. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. The same principle applies popular support. The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. 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. In Nebraska and Maine, the candidate that wins the states overall popular vote receives two electors, and one elector from each congressional district is apportioned to the popular vote winner in that district. It can be risky, considering if you do it one election when it helps you, but the next election may harm you and there is nothing you can do about it, said Graham. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. FEC:The Electoral College Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. 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. 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
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