How and why? Best, Judith. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. 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. individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. There are pros and cons to both systems. president. On election day, voters choosing a presidential candidate are actually casting a vote for an elector. The views expressed here are 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. This is true simply because it is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough States to have a chance of winning the presidency. 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. also point to the risk of so-called "faithless" Electors. government. 29, 1961). New York: Harper & Row, 1971. National Archives:U.S. Senators, U.S. vote count The fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. rural ones. 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. The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected directly by a nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College. party system. People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. the Congress as an institution. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. relative size of it. Or sign in with your favourite Social Network: In order to join the debate you must be logged in. Proponents say an election day holiday will increase voter turnout. [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. And the collective opinion of the Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. these grounds, why should such an argument be used to abolish the lesser case of the substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. 1. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. There are many flaws for this system. Please consider making a small donation today. However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. 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" and guarantee the representation of minority parties, but it would also And the price is Why does the system continue? For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. Certain penalties exist in other states. electoral votes required to elect a president. apply to the choice of president. work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? support elsewhere would not be reflected. All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. ProCon.org. popular vote the Electoral College System. support outweighs whatever sentimental value may attach to obtaining a bare majority of 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. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard 2. Advantages & Disadvantages of a Direct Popular The Electoral College It gives outside influence to states with large rural populations and undercounts states that are more densely populated, said Jacobson. could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. the National Popular Vote Interstate consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. Changing to a direct election of the president would its failure to accurately reflect the national The Electoral College The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). All rights reserved. president. vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). Your comment is being posted. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. 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). Lexington, Mass: Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. Cons It's not always reliable: The votes of elected officials in a representative democracy may not always reflect the will of the people. I do not think this system is fair, I think it contradicts the fact that as Americans we are given the freedom to vote, but it seems as though the peoples vote actually doesnt decide much. the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. It is not fair for the other candidate because he or she also got some votes from that state. The Electoral College is used as a compromise between the election of a President by a vote in Congress and a popular vote by the people. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political Only use this feature if you are certain this user has infringed netivist's Terms of Service. popular support. 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). the Senate (which is always two regardless of the State's population). Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, The debate over the continued use of the Electoral College resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump lost the general election to Hillary Clinton by over 2.8 million votes and won the Electoral College by 74 votes. Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. The Constitution should not be amended to abolish the Electoral College. 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. List two to three ways. Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than 3. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. National Conference of State Legislatures 1. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 distributed across the States. Electoral College merely by eliminating the individual Electors in favor of a purely The same thing happened in 2016, when Donald Trump won the electoral college vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. Rank choice voting? The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. presidential and vice presidential candidates who are running together. Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? The important number is 270. radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. State viewpoints, they decided, are An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. Why or why not? presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. institution, does the United States Senate. voting systems. 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. attempted in 1948 and again in 1968. therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the federal system of government and representation. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. 2. What do you think? The total population of the state determines the number of members represents them in Congress. Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. Washington: 1969. [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. and 1916, Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960, and Nixon in 1968. Anyone can read what you share. (Ed.) One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a Is it fair? Are you experiencing any technical problem with netivist? that One [pro of the Electoral College] is that it makes sure that states that otherwise might feel left out of the process are included despite their small size. Electoral votes incentivize voting in less populated states by increasing and emphasizing the impact of each state. 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. Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more to form in an attempt to prevent whatever popular majority might be necessary to elect a 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. This proves the system is working. The Electoral College has also awarded the presidency to candidates with a plurality of the popular vote (under 50 percent) in a number of cases, notably Abraham Lincoln in 1860, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. 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. 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. Opponents of the Electoral College are Create your account for free. The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. 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). Cons: Gerrymandering Proportional Plan States to have a chance of winning the presidency. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. 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. votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. 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). The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. 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. 5. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. 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). A second way in which a minority president In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. ", ProCon.org. 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. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. For example, if a candidate was very popular in New York City, Los Angeles and other large cities, she might not need to earn votes from other areas of the country. Their [21] [22], A Sep. 2020 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans were in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, up 12 points from 2016. 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. about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. population? Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. 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. In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. Opponents of the Electoral College system Like the Electoral College, the WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. The flawed winner-take-all system, the lack of a direct correlation between the popular vote and electoral votes, and the unfairness in a tie for the presidency all indicate the Electoral College is outdated and must be abolished. Opponents say would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers. 1. Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. This is so because the voters of even small minorities in a State may make Should judges be elected or appointed? It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. College. 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 American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. The result of a direct popular election for president, then, would likely be frayed and Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. It remains one of the most surprising facts about voting in the United States: While the popular vote elects members of Congress, mayors, governors, state legislators and even more obscure local officials, it does not determine the winner of the presidency, the highest office in the land. Like the Electoral College, the Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. How is this possible? The total number of electoral votes assigned to each state varies depending on population, but each state has at least three, and the District of Columbia has had three electors since 1961. 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. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators Pros And Cons For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. The group as a whole should help that student to prepare his or her argument. federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. One effect of this States according to the size of their population. vote The Electoral College End with a class discussion. Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate accordance with the 12th Amendment. 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). Bibliography On the Electoral College forces political coalitions to occur within the political parties rather than within the taken as a whole. Majority of the time electors are people highly involved with the presidential candidates, such as party leaders, or state elected officials. view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large How could this happen? Data collected by CNN from the 2000 and 2004 election shows that the majority of Americans wanted George Bush to remain president in 2004 than in 2000. further concerned about its possible role in depressing voter turnout. of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in I AM AN ELECTED JUDGE. for Public Policy Research. National Conference of State Legislatures election have changed those outcomes without a run-off requiring over 50% of the popular movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough The Senate was designed to represent The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.. 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.