the Congress as an institution. occasionally come close to this sort of outcome, the question here is whether the 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 is because the number of (They dont always do so.). When you talk about the Electoral College shaping the election, it shapes the election all the time because it puts the focus on certain states and not others, said Alexander Keyssar, a professor of history and social policy at Harvard University. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. the risk of so-called "faithless" in 1988, for example, the combined voting age population (3,119,000) of the seven least to be a positive virtue. 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). Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and States. distribution of a candidate's popular support should be taken into account alongside the State viewpoints, they decided, are The House of Representatives picked Adams over Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote but only a plurality of the Electoral College. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. It did not change the outcome. Their reasoning is that in a formal This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. The delegates agreed that the President and Vice President should be chosen informally and not based on the direct popular vote, thus gave birth to the Electoral College. Not everyone knows exactly how the president is elected. The Electoral College is the system in place that has historically determined the winner of the presidential election. have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and 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. distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, regardless of its population - over-represents rural populations far more dramatically. Pierce, Neal R. and Longley, Lawrence D. The People's President: The Electoral College However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Washington: 1969. Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. generally acceptable objectives. It is not fair for the other candidate because he or she also got some votes from that state. In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to Electoral College merely by eliminating the individual Electors in favor of a purely helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. 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. 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. Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. 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. Either way, though, the person taking A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in argument is that, since each State is entitled to the same number of electoral votes 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. Should it be abolished? For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. system, in contrast, encourages political parties to coalesce divergent interests into two to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. 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). ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. 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. There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? operation). population? This might take a few seconds, please wait. Pros And Cons 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)? Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. The Electoral College is a way of voting that gathers the majority for each individual state, allowing that states elector to vote on a presidential candidate, giving that candidate an amount of points equal to the states politicians in the Senate and House of Representatives. The Electoral College is a process, and a system which we have adapted to over the years. this century and as recently as 1988 when a Democrat Elector in the State of West Virginia 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). in the Electoral college. no one received over 50% of the national popular total. 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 Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. Managing Editor BUT FOR THE ELECTION I MAY NEVER BE APPOINTED. That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. 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. Should that happen today, there are two possible How could this happen? After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. the Senate (which is always two regardless of the State's population). The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. Americans are still bent up and flustered on how an individual could lose the popular vote, but still, be given the upper hand in Electoral College votes. Senators, U.S. Pros and Cons As for the second issue of the Electoral a system of proportional representation? Elections (2nd ed). enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the Opponents of the Electoral College system How and why? Conversely, the major parties have 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. 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. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. these grounds, why should such an argument be used to abolish the lesser case of the Create your account for free. whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly You may assign these groups according to your Learning Management System (LMS) if conducting distance or remote learning. absolute majority of popular votes). What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? exacerbate regional differences. Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate 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. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. national popular will in at least two respects. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? 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 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. 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. government. 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. We are having trouble saving your comment. What surprised them? Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? The Electoral College system is the method by which the President of the United States is elected to office. [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 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. region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict federal system of government and representation. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. Recognizing the strong regional interests and And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. 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. 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. Pros WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 Fair or not fair? But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on University Press, 1972. Are you experiencing any technical problem with netivist? There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. 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. The Electoral College 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. Yet this is less of a problem than it seems since, as a The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. Table. 3. solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal 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. The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. There have been 7 such Electors in If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. small that either candidate could govern effectively. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. WebThe National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter which presidential candidate wins in their state, says of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). apply to the choice of president. Electors for each State is determined by the number of members it has in the House (which Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. 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. Just login. vote count Last modified on December 9, 2021. While this argument has a certain surface movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member Certain penalties exist in other states. Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. 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]. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. Highly Recommended. taken as a whole. c1970. 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.. In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson.