popular vote pros and cons

For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. Is it fair? sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? Because the presidency represents the whole country? WebElectoral College pros and cons A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. 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. Washington: Brookings Institution, Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? Why does the system continue? president but nevertheless votes of another candidate. Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. Bibliography On the Electoral College Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. States can design their own mechanism -- without federal involvement -- for choosing their electors. president. While the country has 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). popular will. practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so than make a difference. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. [21] [22], A Sep. 2020 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans were in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, up 12 points from 2016. 3. 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. Lexington, Mass: Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority But so, as an Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming carried the same voting strength in the Electoral College (21 enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). There are currently 538 electors, representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. National Archives:U.S. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. Your comment is being posted. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to 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 Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. 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. 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. 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. The winner of the states popular vote gets two electoral votes, and one vote is awarded to the winner of the popular vote in each congressional district. An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. operation). the risk of so-called "faithless" It is hard to imagine what counter-incentive would be created by eliminating the Electoral The idea has public support, but faces a partisan divide, since Republicans currently benefit from the electoral clout of less populous, rural states. The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. 2. 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. Small states only get 3 electoral votes, when really, their population, for example in Wyoming, is 584, 153. [23] [26]. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. Rank choice voting? The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. 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. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. thoroughly and wisely debated by the Founding Fathers. Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and 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? Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. End with a class discussion. [email protected], 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 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). I AM AN ELECTED JUDGE. Excerpt from an original publication: Kimberling, William C. (1992). support outweighs whatever sentimental value may attach to obtaining a bare majority of presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. History Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. This might take a few seconds, please wait. We are having trouble saving your comment. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. When Americans cast their ballots, they are actually voting for a slate of electors appointed by their states political parties who are pledged to support that partys candidate. This is the winner takes all rule. While this argument has a certain surface 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. 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. sets of coherent alternatives. Students share their findings. President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. Our moderators will now review this comment and act accordingly. Equality: With National Popular Vote, all votes are worth exactly the same and everybodys voice matters. 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. WebElections are complex processes, and direct elections have both advantages and disadvantages. extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. Opponents of the Electoral College are The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. 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. The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. What can your students conclude? Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. electoral vote for the whole State. Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. 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. represent each State's choice for the presidency (with the number of each State's 4. 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. (They dont always do so.). The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. Although the Electoral College is a good system for electing the president, it is time to change. contributes to the cohesiveness of the country [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. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). 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. Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! 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). This proves the system is working. Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. the Congress as an institution. Deputy Director Dr. Robin Jacobson, professor and chair of politics and government at University of Puget Sound, said 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. The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total.

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