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). It understands that while the nation is one union, it is also an amalgam of varying experiences and perspectives arrived at via the settings and unique problems surrounding those who live in different places, and that these differences fall within the broad rubric of federalism. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the . The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. For example: States already have the power to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, although this would be disadvantageous to the state that did so unless it was joined simultaneously by other states that represent a majority of electoral votes. 1. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. That means some voters, like Republicans in California or Democrats in Mississippi, are voting without power and without attention from their preferred candidates each year. E pluribus unum -- out of many, one. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. Or states might explore what was recently proposed in Colorado -- that electors be allocated in proportion to each candidate's share of the popular vote above a certain threshold. Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. However, some critics argue that the advantages of a direct popular election including reflecting democratic principals, outweigh the disadvantages. On a close popular vote, often defined as a difference of 0.5% or less in the tabulated results, an automatic recount would likely be triggered. But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. It could encourage voter turnout. "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Hence, the National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact a type of state law authorized by the U.S. Constitution that enables states to enter into a legally enforceable, contractual obligation to undertake agreed joint actions, which may be delayed in implementation until a requisite number of states join in. The United States does not have direct election of its president, yet most national, state and local offices are filled by the candidate with the most votes. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz often split about 60% of the GOP vote, which allowed Donald Trump to win early primaries with 35% of the vote. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. Candidates get one vote for every congressional district they win, and then two votes for winning the state-wide vote. Without any sort of broad support, the politics of the country could become even more fractured than they already are. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. In the 2016 election, "swing states" that might vote Republican or Democrat like Wisconsin were targets of candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The Congressional District method would allocate electoral votes based on the winner of each congressional district. Because there was a difference of less than 1,000 tabulated votes between George W. Bush and Al Gore in one state, Florida, the nation watched as 6 million votes were recounted by machine, several hundred thousand were recounted by hand in counties with differing recount standards, partisan litigators fought each other in state and federal courts, the secretary of state backed by the majority of state legislators (all Republicans) warred with the state's majority Democratic judiciary -- until 37 days after the election the U.S. Supreme Court, in a bitterly controversial 5-4 decision effectively declared Bush the winner. The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes. It would limit the influence of local issues in the election. It seeks to be a bulwark against mass hysteria and the hysteria created by mass media. The National Popular Vote effort, explained The National Popular Vote effort is now halfway to its goal of electing future presidents via the popular vote, after Rhode Island Gov. Bosque de Palabras Most recently, the bill was passed by a bipartisan 4016 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House, 2818 in Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate, 574 in Republican-controlled New York Senate, and 3721 in Democratic-controlled Oregon House." An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. Instead, it modifies the winner-take-all rule in a way its supporters say would assure that every vote will matter in every state in every presidential election. The National Popular Vote (NPV) refers to the concept of allocating a state's presidential electors to the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide regardless of the state results in a presidential election. However, many people believe that a direct popular election is more democratic and fair than the Electoral College. N.p., n.d. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. The National Popular Vote plan is a bill passed by participating state legislatures agreeing that they will cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote. Their vote only counts at the local level, not the national level, because of the electoral votes. It is also true that no president since 1824 has received the votes of a majority of the eligible voters and 18 presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, John. cons of the national popular vote plan. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. Cons: Smaller states don't get as much of a say and people would demand a national recount National Bonus Plan Winner of popular vote gets extra 102 electoral votes Pros: No winner of popular vote losing overall Cons: Basically exactly like the Direct plan District Plan Win popular vote in each district, you get one electoral vote. 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. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. Because of the state Winner-Take-All rules, which arent even part of the Constitution, they can lead to presidential elections where the winner of the election doesnt have the most popular votes. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. 10 Apr. Published: Mar. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. The National Popular Vote stems from the winner-take-all approach that validates the presidential candidate interactions with only 4 out of 50 dates during their campaign. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. In each instance the republic has survived, and democracy has prospered despite the challenges presented. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that are not affected by this approach. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. In 2016, Hillary Clinton had more than 10 million of these votes, while Donald Trump had more than 8.3 million, even though Trump won 30 states and Clinton won 20 and the District of Columbia. National Popular Vote is a constitutional and practical way to implement nationwide popular election of the President a goal traditionally supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. 4. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. In the 2020 election California did not certify their votes until Friday, December 11, only 3 days before the Electoral College met on Monday, December, 14. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. Post author: Post published: June 29, 2022 Post category: Uncategorized Post comments: paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Cons of Electoral College. The electoral requires that an election which does not receive a majority of electoral votes be taken into the U.S. House of Representatives. Some states, such as California and Hawaii, both had their bills vetoed by their governors before it was overridden and enacted by state legislators. Definition and Examples. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? Bush and Al Gore (Black). The states that join the NPV Compact will not be able to certify their Electoral College Votes until all 50 states and DC certify their state popular votes and any mandated/requested recounts since the Compact state ECVs are dependent on the winner of the national popular vote and not just their own state popular votes. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047 (accessed March 4, 2023). Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Under the electoral college, the majority votes of states assign electoral votes to a candidate, which then creates a majority total required for a victory. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. 2. The Constitution specifically leaves details like how the electoral votes are cast up to the states. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. 8. amazon web services address herndon va custom airbrush spray tan near me custom airbrush spray tan near me And thats not how it should be in a democracy. The principal flaw in the plan is its assumption that under the plan there will still be only two major parties competing for the presidency in 2020. . Constitutional Amendment to Guarantee the Right to Vote for All U.S. Citizens. The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. In countries where the concept of popular votes is in place, every vote has an equal weight regarding the election outcome. The senators in the U.S. Senate make up two votes in addition to the votes that represent the number of its members in the U.S. House of Representatives (Archives). "The National Popular Vote Plan." 5. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. The National Popular Vote Plan. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. It would eliminate superfluous votes. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. If enacted by enough states, the National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The electoral college leads to a heavy emphasis on swing states and also typically over-represents citizens in rural states. 9. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. I will explain that in another blog post. Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. It happened once, in 1876. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? It is not even a liberal or conservative bill. It is our national motto and is so for a reason. In addition, the bill has been unanimously approved at the committee level in the states of Georgia and Missouri, controlling a combined 27 electoral votes. 1. If the presidential election were switched to the popular vote, then it would only take about 35% of the vote for a candidate to win. [Add switching votes of losing party to the other partys voter totals in every state using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system (except for 5 EC votes in Maine and Nebraska that are awarded proportionally instead of by Winner-Take-All.]. A popular vote structure would virtually eliminate the idea of a third-party candidate having a chance in an election. Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clintons 227 electoral votes. http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/. Our experts will write for you an essay on any topic, with any deadline and requirements from scratch, Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons. ashburnham school committee; its his baby now political cartoon meaning; softstar primal sawyer evergreen funeral home live stream. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. cons of the national popular vote planchicago religious demographics. Web. The winner-take-all rule is not required by the Constitution and was actually used by only three states in the nation's first presidential election in 1789. This divide creates natural divisions between groups of people who both support their country, but in different ways. Here are the essential pros and cons of popular vote elections to examine. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. The first problem it creates is the opportunity for the loser of the popular vote to win the electoral vote. Electoral college reform proposals include (1) the district plan, awarding each state's two at-large electoral votes to the statewide popular vote winners, and one electoral vote to the winning candidates in each congressional district; (2) the proportional plan, awarding electoral votes in states in direct proportion to the popular vote gained Just 12 Closely Divided Battleground States Got 96% of 2020 Campaign Events. In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore won the popular vote by more than 500,000 ballots, but George Bush became president by winning the Electoral College 271 to 266. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. Their answer is simple: one in which every citizen's vote is equal to every other citizen's vote and one in which the winner of the presidential popular vote, no matter how small his or her percentage is of those who voted, would be elected. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. That's almost 1.5 billion . In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. National Popular Vote will create a single member district (all 50 states and D.C.), where the candidate with the most votes wins and . There would be a reduced need to build coalitions. As a result, the percentage of popular votes secured by Donald Trump was just 46.4% in comparison with Hilary Clinton, who secured 48.5% of the votes. Privacy Policy. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). Each states electoral votes are tallied by Congress in the House chamber by House and Senate representatives on the 6th day of January following the Presidential election. In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. 3. This was the intent of the Founding Fathers. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. 5. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. 2. In 2004, for example, candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry campaigned heavily in states such as Nevada while ignoring political issues in New York, a state that Kerry was sure to win, according to the University of the Pacific. Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Politicians would focus on fewer swing states (Bigger states more potential votes) This is a situation that has caused controversy in the election years of of 1800, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 when the elected president won the Electoral College and the presidency but did not win the popular vote. Longley, Robert. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. And in all states but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in that state is awarded all of its electoral votes, whether the split is 51% to 49% or 99% to 1%. According to Article II, Section 1, "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress." Many cities and school districts, under threat of a lawsuit by a Malibu attorney, have already adopted or are in the process of changing to district elections rather than remaining citywide or . Would you like to get a custom essay? By continuing well assume youre on board with our, https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Select a writer from a large pool of experts. The advantage of this system is that it preserves the preferences of. Proportional Plan Although this may limit the amount of diversity that occurs in office, and may generate extra financial costs, the argument could be made that these risks outweigh the results of an election where a majority of states, not a majority of people, put someone into office. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. That offers the possibility that someone unwilling or unable to hold the office could be elected. National Popular Vote values rural and urban voters equally. Because of the winner-take-all rule, a candidate can be elected president without winning the most popular votes nationwide. June 7, 2022 . Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? Pros & Cons of a National Popular Vote Buy Complete Issue $19.95 Login or Subscribe The National Popular Vote How would the interstate compact work? 1. All states could adopt the system that now exists in Maine and Nebraska, where all but two electors are chosen by congressional district, and the other two go to the statewide winner. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults (63%) say the way the president is elected should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency, while 35% favor keeping the current Electoral College system, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 27-July 4, 2022. A plan to enact the National Popular Vote was introduced in the Michigan Legislature on Wednesday. National Popular Vote proponents argue that the United States has had four presidential elections in which the plurality winner of the popular vote was not chosen as president. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. However that presumably rare exception happened in the 2000 election when Florida could not complete their statewide recount in time for the Electoral College deadline and the Supreme Court forced Florida to use their first vote count without a statewide recount. The issue raised by the National Popular Vote campaign is fundamental: What kind of a democracy should America be? tobin james the blend 2017 ; real estate marketing solutions; cons of the national popular vote plan; lassi kefalonia shops cons of the national popular vote plan . The time to stop its momentum is now. Definition and Examples, Learn How Many Total Electoral Votes There Are. on WordPress.com. That would likely reduce the number of voters who cast a ballot in each election as most people are more concerned about local impacts than national policies. April 8, 2016 National popular vote far better than Electoral College system for choosing presidents, Stanford professors say. But we're closer to that than you might think 15 states and the District of Columbia have already signed on, providing 196 electoral votes of the needed 270. As of December 2020, the National Popular Vote bill has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, controlling 196 electoral votes: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, and WA. Many of these states dont participate in campaign visits or get televised ads. This text is available online and is used for gudiance and inspiration, We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. 13 Early College High School Pros and Cons, 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. However, this also means that regions with a quite low population density will almost have no influence on the election outcome at all since they only have far too few votes to make a real difference. NCSL's experts are here to answer your questions and give you unbiased, comprehensive information as soon as you need it on issues facing state legislatures. Disadvantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. The National Popular Vote bill will take effect when enacted into law by states possessing 270 electoral votes a majority of the current 538 electoral votes. 4. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. This feature is critical to the passionate bipartisan support the compact receives. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. Instead of a direct popular election, the United States has the Electoral College, a group of electors who represent each state's votes. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. First it would be relatively easy to implement. Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. Longley, Robert. a plan for a national popular vote could undermine the . 3. This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. There are pros and cons to both systems. ThoughtCo. In theory that could happen every four years. Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. Get breaking news and updates from Common Cause. Make a contribution to support Common Cause today. Or the opposite could be true. That nightmare may seem like a pleasant dream if NPV has its way. In fact, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has now been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 196 electoral votes, is an actionable and realistic . You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper.
