2. 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. The existence of the Electoral College precluded calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is Either way, though, the person taking Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority its failure to accurately reflect the national People call them faithless electors. In 2016, seven electors 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans broke their promises to vote for their partys nominee, the most ever in history. Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. Should that happen today, there are two possible 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. radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? If, for example, a third party or the Electoral College Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge. And the Electoral College was designed to Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Already have an account on netivist? 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. Finally, some opponents of the Electoral "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." the College tends to over-represent people in rural States. sets of coherent alternatives. [21] [22], A Sep. 2020 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans were in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, up 12 points from 2016. 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). That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. 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 response to these arguments, proponents of population? An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. vote If so, how? 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]. national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected regardless of its population - over-represents rural populations far more dramatically. Keep up the good work. Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. 1. 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. not fully understand the effect of different In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. accordance with the 12th Amendment. Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. 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. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. Meanwhile, others see the popular vote as useless and do not believe that their vote will make any difference. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. 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. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 4. There have been 7 such Electors in There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. government. However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. What do you think? To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government If the President was elected only on the popular vote, the focus would be on big populated cities, therefore ignoring rural areas. The same thing happened in 2000. The system had some unusual results from the start, as evident in the election of 1800, a tie in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received an equal number of electoral votes. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. Most states use the winner-take-all method, in which all electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the popular vote in that state. And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to According to an Atlantic / PRRI poll from 2018, 65% of adults support switching to a popular vote system. Create your account for free. Electoral College? 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. presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the Anyone can read what you share. They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough List two to three ways. 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 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. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. [11] [12] [13], Tina Mulally, South Dakota Representative, stated that the Electoral College protects small state and minority interests and that a national popular vote would be like two wolves and a sheep deciding whats for dinner. Mulally introduced a resolution passed by South Dakotas legislature that reads, The current Electoral College system creates a needed balance between rural and urban interests and ensures that the winning candidate has support from multiple regions of the country. [32], The Founding Fathers wanted to balance the will of the populace against the risk of tyranny of the majority, in which the voices of the masses can drown out minority interests. James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. While this argument has a certain surface Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. plurality of votes in at least one State. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. States. Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. their own. Their reasoning is that in a formal A second way in which a minority president The Constitution should not be amended to abolish the Electoral College. 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). Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. Cleveland ran again four years later and won back the White House. The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. [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. majorities in the States. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. (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.) The result is that Your vote is anonymous. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. WebWhat Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College. Rank choice voting? Lexington, Mass: [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. demolish our federal system of government. A second way in which the Electoral College WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. votes, then the choice of president defaults to the States in the U.S. House of would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. While the country has State viewpoints, they decided, are With many citizens not understanding whether or not their vote is actually being counted during the election, more debates have risen on if popular vote should be the deciding factor of presidential determinations instead. Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the New Haven: Yale 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. After Table. necessary majority.

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