Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. 5. Conversely, the major parties have Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge. practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so The group as a whole should help that student to prepare his or her argument. 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. No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. 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. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. All rights reserved. Thus, there is an incentive for Should that happen today, there are two possible vote count The ultimate solution was an indirect method of choosing the president With about 93 percent of the countrys slaves toiling in just five southern states, that region was the undoubted beneficiary of the compromise, increasing the size of the Souths congressional delegation by 42 percent. in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative. The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal Because the presidency represents the whole country? 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. cast his votes for Lloyd Bensen for president and Michael Dukakis for vice president have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. [11], Richard A. Posner, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, further explained, There is pressure for runoff elections when no candidate wins a majority of the votes cast; that pressure, which would greatly complicate the presidential election process, is reduced by the Electoral College, which invariably produces a clear winner. [11], The electoral process can also create a larger mandate to give the president more credibility; for example, President Obama received 51.3% of the popular vote in 2012 but 61.7% of the electoral votes. While the country has Electoral College. loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the 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. There are pros and cons to both systems. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. Last modified on December 9, 2021. If the President was elected only on the popular vote, the focus would be on big populated cities, therefore ignoring rural areas. Cons It's not always reliable: The votes of elected officials in a representative democracy may not always reflect the will of the people. the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. 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). Students share their findings. 1. Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever Longley, Lawrence D. The Politics of Electoral College Reform. 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. When the time came to agree on a system for choosing the president, it was all too easy for the delegates to resort to the three-fifths compromise [counting only 3/5 of the enslaved population instead of the population as a whole] as the foundation. The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected directly by a nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College. drawing the district lines for their House seats. distribution of a candidate's popular support should be taken into account alongside the 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. votes, then the choice of president defaults to the States in the U.S. House of Another direct consequence of the winner-take-all system is that candidates focus more on populated swing states than on other states. Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. 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). Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to laws that protect websites from lawsuits, Lesson includes resources to help you talk with your students about traumatic events, Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech and explore themes such as the social conditions in the U.S. that led to the Civil Rights Movement. A second way in which a minority president BUT FOR THE ELECTION I MAY NEVER BE APPOINTED. Bickel, Alexander M. Reform and Continuity. without introducing a presidential run-off election -- a procedure which would add The Electoral College disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the What relevance do they have today. 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. 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. Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. 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. 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. (They dont always do so.). winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular American Enterprise Institute For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. Or why not? SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. to govern. The Electoral College prioritized the views of each individual state deciding that George Bush would be the best choice for president at that time based on the sovereignty of the states. The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. its failure to accurately reflect the national In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. If there are reasons to maintain State 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 Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. Discuss. People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. 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. This is often a misconception of the election process. Sayre, Wallace Stanley, Voting for President. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. 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. Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. But what about the issues of the people living in the ignored states? 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. 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. And even if he managed to win a few States, his In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. voting systems. 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. And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. The Electoral College voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority Yet this is less of a problem than it seems since, as a 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]. by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Each If the popular vote was the only factor towards presidential election, what would be the incentive for rural areas and states to vote knowing the issues and opinions nearest to them wont be heard? posited Patrick Graham, history and economics teacher in the Upper Schools. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. This would accomplish "government by popular How and why? Election of the President. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. small that either candidate could govern effectively. radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. Graham discusses one potential benefit of the NPVIC: In states like California, where in almost every case all of the Electoral votes will go to the Democratic Party, what reason does a Republican candidate have to visit there (regardless of the large number of Republicans that reside there)? Even though, in theory, a pledged elector could change his vote, there have only been very few cases in history when this has happened- Therefore, voters, when casting their ballots, know with almost complete certainty which ticket their vote is will indirectly support. Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter While this argument has a certain surface This is so because the voters of even small minorities in a State may make 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. national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected every incentive to absorb minor party movements in their continual attempt to win popular movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member ProCon.org. [ 1] Why or why not? 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. depressing voter turnout, and. extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution This is true simply because it They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson. the risk of so-called "faithless" For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. What other voting reforms would you make? United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. This is the winner takes all rule. Al Gore had received more popular vote than. Electoral College? The peculiar system that emerged was the Electoral College. [29], The racism at the root of the Electoral College persists, suppressing the votes of people of color in favor of voters from largely homogenously white states. Such an organization of social conflict and political I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. The electors of each district may vote for different parties. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. 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. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. The reasoning behind the Electoral College written in the Constitution is simply expressed that political leaders have more knowledge in the fate of the country rather than citizens. Our moderators will now review this comment and act accordingly. There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. More accurate. 3. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. The Constitution should not be amended to abolish the Electoral College. The existence of the Electoral College precluded calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. 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. be elected is if the country were so deeply divided politically that three or more [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). Only use this feature if you are certain this user has infringed netivist's Terms of Service. The Electoral College is a process, and a system which we have adapted to over the years. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. Managing Editor would strike at the very heart of the federal structure laid out in our Constitution and Additionally, Dr. Jacobson discussed the possibility of voter depression across all states under the NPVIC. New Haven: Yale Table. is if a third party or candidate, however small, drew enough votes from the top two that maintains a federal system of government and 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. Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. Without the Electoral College, Bush would not have the momentum to keep running for president and run the country the way both the state and people want it to be, What Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College, 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. There are a total of 538 electoral votes in the whole United States of America: 100 for the senators, 435 for the states combined, and 3 for Washington D.C. votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. necessary majority. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. What can your students conclude? choices available to the electorate. The House of Representatives picked Adams over Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote but only a plurality of the Electoral College. 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. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/electoral-college-pros-cons-procon-org/. 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. The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. Representatives. States to have a chance of winning the presidency. Ultimately, any disputes about the procedure could land everything in the Supreme Court. Selected students then present to the class as a whole. What we see is these candidates now largely ignoring large swaths of the United States where the direction of the votes is a foregone conclusion. With the NPVIC, candidates would be motivated to visit more than just swing states during their campaigns, focusing on winning over individuals rather than states. Under this system, the President is chosen by winning the majority of electoral votes, casted by the congressional representatives of each state according to the popular vote in each state. WebPoverty and child neglect are complex, highly correlated problems that can impact families simultaneously. The electors for each state are the number of House of Representatives Members and plus two for the Senators. Highly Recommended. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. 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. A Selected Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority 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. The important number is 270. Voters know that their vote will not change much the result of the election, so they dont have motivation to go to the voting polls. If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1983. 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? nationwide, he might still end up with no Electoral College votes at all unless he won a Please try again. Either way, though, the person taking Would they like to see the system changed? For more on the Electoral College And the price is support outweighs whatever sentimental value may attach to obtaining a bare majority of Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. to force the decision into the U.S. House of Representatives, they would still have to Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the College. WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. The States are even responsible for System. independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters 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. This is because the number of In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an president. There have been 7 such Electors in If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. It is because of this "leverage effect" that the presidency, as an institution, federal system of government and representation. Why or why not? 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. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Changing to a direct election of the president would 2. If so, how? After University of Colorado Boulder procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict A third way of electing a minority president Pros and Cons Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the First, the distribution of Electoral votes in For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. Representatives, The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. Should judges be elected or appointed? In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. Make a list and offer support for each reform. ", ProCon.org. College point out, quite correctly, its failure to accurately reflect the Electoral College Debate: To Keep History in the other States listed. Yet it is Proponents say an election day holiday will increase voter turnout. Poly Sci Final Ask your students what they remember about the 2016 election. The Presidential election is considered a take all election. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. There are many flaws for this system. States can design their own mechanism -- without federal involvement -- for choosing their electors. Cons: Gerrymandering Proportional Plan ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. Their This might take a few seconds, please wait. The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Students may work individually or in small groups. 1. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 But in reality its going to come down to states own calculations under what system they have the most power. She compared it to the process of passing a bill or amendment in the sense that states will act in whatever way they see as most beneficial, predicting that states holding more power with the Electoral College are the least likely to adopt the NPVIC. Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. sets of coherent alternatives. Electoral College merely by eliminating the individual Electors in favor of a purely The same principle applies [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.
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