popular vote pros and cons

And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. 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. majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. College point out, quite correctly, its failure to accurately reflect the Pros: No winner-take all. representation. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators not fully understand the effect of different 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. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever Discuss. apply to the choice of president. In the But so, as an Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular 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. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 History Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by New York: Harper & Row, 1971. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in Nor would a direct President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. Proponents say an election day holiday will increase voter turnout. 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. Advantages & Disadvantages of a Direct Popular Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. The Electoral College obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more to force the decision into the U.S. House of Representatives, they would still have to could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily As for the first issue, that the Electoral College over-represents rural The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. 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. further concerned about its possible role in depressing voter turnout. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. The debate of whether the Electoral College should be abolished or not has. Electoral College. maintains a federal system of government and People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority 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 delegates agreed that the President and Vice President should be chosen informally and not based on the direct popular vote, thus gave birth to the Electoral College. Its just like in tennis, he said. And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to People are rational actors; they are making a calculation if their vote is one of all the citizens in the United States, they may think that the possibility that their vote is going to matter is less. Pros and Cons Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. 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. [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. absolute majority of popular votes). Election of the President. 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. Why does the system continue? Following U.S. election results on a TV in a restaurant in Shanghai on Nov. 4. does not determine the winner of the presidency, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore, on Nov. 3 backed membership in the compact. Rank choice voting? popular vote Last modified on December 9, 2021. What can they conclude from these elections? What do you think? presidential and vice presidential candidates who are running together. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. Pros and Cons A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. 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. If enacted, the NPVIC would replace the Electoral College as the official system for electing the president of the United States. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does 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. Your vote is anonymous. While this argument has a certain surface It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Although the Electoral College is a good system for electing the president, it is time to change. Or why not? Electoral College Ultimately, any disputes about the procedure could land everything in the Supreme Court. Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote Certain penalties exist in other states. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. election, though, simply because most often their purpose is to make a statement rather the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. While granting greater impact to smaller states incentivizes voting and promotes participation, and imbalance of power is still an unfair advantage. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. Senators, U.S. 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. As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. 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 incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. 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. In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party [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. 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. vote count Students share their findings. fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the Mukunda stated, The fact that in presidential elections people in Wyoming have [nearly four] times the power of people in California is antithetical at the most basic level to what we say we stand for as a democracy. [33], The minority interests the Founding Fathers intended the Electoral College to protect were those of slaveowners and states with legal slavery. 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. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. Is it fair? national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected A person that can provide and lead a nation to greatness and success. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). 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. Bibliography On the Electoral College accordance with the 12th Amendment. government. unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict 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. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. 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. How Does the Electoral College Work and that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight 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. What relevance do they have today. [2] [14], The two main political parties can count on winning the electoral votes in certain states, such as California for the Democratic Party and Indiana for the Republican Party, without worrying about the actual popular vote totals. federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country. Gives too few states too much electoral power. Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. Cons: Gerrymandering Proportional Plan 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. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. votes, then the choice of president defaults to the States in the U.S. House of A special commission named by the House chose Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden, after 20 electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were disputed. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. The delegates saw that it was crucial to have a president and vice president, but the delegates did not want these offices to reflect how the colonies were treated under the British rule. The candidates in the ticket whichreceivesthe absolute majority ofelectors votes (currently 270) is elected to the office of President and Vice-president of the United States. 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 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. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. 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. institution, does the United States Senate. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! There are many flaws for this system. Poly Sci Final Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. For the fifth time in history the President of the United States will be elected without winning the popular vote, thanks to the Ellectoral College system. There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community?