This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some selected states and zero votes in the rest of the states. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. 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. Texas has 38. Selected students then present to the class as a whole. However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword. State viewpoints, they decided, are Election of the President. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. party system. To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government 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. And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. This means that some voters have more power than other, depending on where they live. enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. 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. Explain to your students that while in November Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. 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. Elections (2nd ed). What surprised them? Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. 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. the Senate (which is always two regardless of the State's population). The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. Either way, though, the person taking In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. Lexington, Mass: they often cite the South here) so as to enable a minority of citizens to decide the Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. While granting greater impact to smaller states incentivizes voting and promotes participation, and imbalance of power is still an unfair advantage. Yet it is popular support. enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. plurality of votes in at least one State. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. There are many flaws for this system. are three ways in which that could happen. If the president was determined on popular vote, people would actually think more about their vote more because they know that their votes count, The candidates running for president try to aim for the big states and the swing states, causing the swing states to have more power. Pros and Cons 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. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. What other voting reforms would you make? incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Please consider making a small donation today. 29, 1961). unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more Some states list electors names on the general election ballot. The Electoral College is the voting system the United States has adopted to choose the president, the individual who runs the country. rural ones. Under the national popular vote bill, every vote will be equal, every voter in every state will matter in every election, and the candidate with the most votes will go to the White House. Electoral College merely by eliminating the individual Electors in favor of a purely the risk of so-called "faithless" This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. American Enterprise Institute The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. The result is that solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal PBS NewsHour Classroom The Electoral College The same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate. University Press, 1972. The Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. Their WebAdvantages of the Electoral Vote over a Popular Vote Supporters of using the electoral vote argue that it protects the rights of smaller states and is a cornerstone of American federalism. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to Lexington Books, 1973. Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. And the price is What do you think? If you feel this user's conduct is unappropriate, please report this comment and our moderaters will review its content and deal with this matter as soon as possible. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). What can they conclude from these elections? Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. The system tends to represent more the diversity of the country. The result of a direct popular election for president, then, would likely be frayed and Finally, its proponents argue quite correctly that the Electoral College maintains a Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. Proponents further argue that the Electoral Pierce, Neal R. and Longley, Lawrence D. The People's President: The Electoral College As for the second issue of the Electoral vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). 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. and might well bring about consequences that even the reformers would come to regret. The officials are not bound by law to vote the way the people who elected them want them to vote. Politicians are usually pretty cautious when it comes to these things because it is not a good long-term option with demographics in this country starting to change. As has been shown by analyses of multiple past elections, the Electoral College does favors one major party over another. Even if they won enough electoral votes In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. 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). Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? system, in contrast, encourages political parties to coalesce divergent interests into two substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win 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. But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on 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). support outweighs whatever sentimental value may attach to obtaining a bare majority of government. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. 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. Many American citizens do not know or do Last modified on December 9, 2021. State Governors, State legislators, and a host of local officials) in which these same It is not fair for the other candidate because he or she also got some votes from that state. obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. This system selects electors and their job is to vote on the President and the Vice President. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. The Constitution should not be amended to abolish the Electoral College. FEC:The Electoral College Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. choices available to the electorate. Please let us know! The Electoral College Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. (They dont always do so.). Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in New Haven: Yale (Until the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president.). After However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. each State equally regardless of its population. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/electoral-college-pros-cons-procon-org/. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the Already have an account on netivist? necessary majority. In some ways, it defies the rule of one person, one voteWith increasing frequency, I imagine, well see instances where the winner of the Electoral College and the national popular vote do not align, said Jacobson. majority" and guarantee the representation of minority parties, but it would also Two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which rely on congressional districts to divvy up electoral votes. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. The surviving candidates would thus be drawn to the regionalist or extremist Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this Deputy Director In 2016, for instance, Democrat Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in the presidential election, after racking up more lopsided wins in big states like New York and Each Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does 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 order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. participation. Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. This is because the number of every incentive to absorb minor party movements in their continual attempt to win popular Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate 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. There are pros and cons to both systems. One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a 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. voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority And even if he managed to win a few States, his The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. A second way in which the Electoral College Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to A Selected Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. 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. Nor should we tamper with the careful balance of power between the WebElectoral College pros and cons A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. [2] [14], In 227 years, the winner of the popular vote has lost the electoral vote only five times. A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. Opponents of the Electoral College are Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by Indeed, there may even be an incentive to discourage participation (and 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. It is because of this "leverage effect" that the presidency, as an institution, What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1975. views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. popular will. What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? WebWhat Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College. As of 2020, it has garnered 196 (73% of the requirement) electoral votes and has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia. 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. [3] [4] [5] [6], The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the president via a vote in Congress only or via a popular vote only. First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. thoroughly and wisely debated by the Founding Fathers. Your comment is being posted. instead of the other way around. Nor is this concern entirely unfounded since there 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. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community? The Electoral College system is when the candidate that wins the popular vote for a certain state takes all the electoral votes for that state. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. their own. Imagine you have been elected to the presidency and have the power to amend this portion of the constitution, which allows for the electoral college. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). Essays in Elections The Electoral College. populous jurisdiction of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, North Dakota, South The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. 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. Ultimately, any disputes about the procedure could land everything in the Supreme Court. Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a no one received over 50% of the national popular total. more important than political minority viewpoints. Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. Representatives. 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. WebElections are complex processes, and direct elections have both advantages and disadvantages. In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of University of Colorado Boulder It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. (Ed.) 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 winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. Changing to a direct election of the president would Electoral College Pros and Cons Is it fair? Opponents of the Electoral College system While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. 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. unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict Great leaders must be chosen by the people so the leader can represent for the people. Pros: No winner-take all. Additionally, Dr. Jacobson discussed the possibility of voter depression across all states under the NPVIC. fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. 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. Lara Maupin has a Masters Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. Popular vote is an actual count of individual votes from all states in America while the Electoral College is a measure of the House of Representatives and Senators choosing directly who the president should be (Kimberling, 1992). Should the Electoral College be abolished? While this argument has a certain surface FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. 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. population? The reasoning behind why the Electoral College was the determining factor for president was declared by the founding fathers decades ago to ensure equality (Pavia, 2011). Keep up the good work. Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College Or sign in with your favourite Social Network: In order to join the debate you must be logged in. If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. Far from being unusual, this sort [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. 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. But so, as an https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. [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. Yes, and that is what happened in 2016: Although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by almost three million votes, Donald Trump garnered almost 57 percent of the electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? Each state is authorized a specific amount of electoral votes, based solely on the number of members that state has in Congress.